Podcasts about introvert biz growth

#episodeIBG85  Many introverts struggle with feeling invisible. But if we’re hiding in the back of the line, we really can’t complain when we don’t get picked for the team. And if we want to be in service to the world, we’ve got to be seen. So, how do we gradually expand our comfort zone and learn to put ourselves at the front of the line when it counts? Jeffrey Shaw is a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker and business coach for entrepreneurs. He hosts the popular Creative Warriors podcast, and his book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible, shows businesses how to attract an ideal audience by speaking to their values and priorities. For 30-plus years, Jeffrey was one of the country’s top portrait photographers, and today, he uses his keen eye to teach innovative marketing and branding strategies. On this final episode of the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, Jeffrey explains how his introversion lends to his success as a professional speaker. He shares his practice of continually expanding his comfort zone and discusses how he learned to show up as his authentic self—even when he’s nervous. Jeffrey also describes his strengths in terms of observation and empathy and his ongoing struggle around taking it personally when he’s not recognized. Listen in to understand why businesses that uphold a standard of integrity will have success moving forward and learn to stand up for yourself when it matters most! In this episode you’ll learn… How Jeffrey’s introversion lends to his success as a speaker. Jeffrey’s practice of continually expanding his comfort zone. How Jeffrey learned to show up as himself when he’s nervous. The research on why introverts are better at customer service. Jeffrey’s strengths in the art of observation and empathy. The value in understanding how the world sees you. How Jeffrey still takes it personally when he’s not recognized. Jeffrey’s insight on putting yourself at the front of the line. Why businesses must understand customer values + priorities. The introversion clause in Jeffrey’s contract for speaking. Jeffrey’s gratitude for being in a heathy, loving relationship. Other links and resources mentioned in this episode: Jeffrey’s Website Jeffrey on Twitter Jeffrey on Facebook Jeffrey on LinkedIn LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible by Jeffrey Shaw Creative Warriors Creative Warriors Podcast Jeffrey’s Free LINGO Website Review Jeffrey on The Introverted Entrepreneur EP114 Chris Dyer on Creative Warriors EP491 Susan Cain Todd Henry Gallup StrengthsFinder Myers-Briggs Type Indicator How to Fascinate Personality Test Jeffrey’s TEDx Talk Anxiety-Free Marketing for the Conscious Entrepreneur A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink Daniel Pink on Creative Warriors EP431 The Gentle Business Revolution Sarah’s Book List How Saying ‘No’ Can Help You Grow Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed it, I would be super grateful if you'd share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. And if you don’t have it yet, get your free 4-step Guide on How to Say no to Grow. You'll be added to my list as well so I can share the latest episodes and other introvert related resources with you. Also, please leave a review on iTunes. I'm told that they really matter so if you'd take a minute I'd appreciate it. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or on Android to get notified for all my future shows. Warmly Sarah

Welcome to the 17th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. I have a another short muse episode for you today, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I was just preparing a free workshop with the title ‘The Cause of Marketing Anxiety… and the Cure’ that I’ll be hosting together with my friend and fellow introvert Val Nelson on June 28th. As the title says we’ll be discussing what causes marketing anxiety. I’ll be talking about things that give us anxiety when we’re on the receiving end, and Val about things that give us anxiety in our own marketing. So here are some of the things that I’ll talk about:   6 or 7-Figure promises They make us feel like we’re not good enough if we haven’t reached 6 or 7 figures yet They isolate us from the ‘guru’ and the rest of the world They make us feel like we should just give up now   Stories of how much money THEY made using THEIR system You know those headlines that say ‘How I made $132’308.00 with this webinar’ Same idea: we feel like we’re not good enough because we are not generating that kind of money The mention of money or the according lifestyle creates anxiety!   Use of FOMO ‘If you don’t get this now your business will never thrive’ ‘900 people already signed up’ – again, this creates peer pressure and isolation It makes us feel bad because we’re excluded and we feel like losers because we can’t afford it     I’m not pointing fingers here. I’m actually admitting having used some of these techniques myself – and still catch myself every now and then. It’s what we have been taught to do ! From there Val will then share what makes us feel anxious when having to go out there and market our business. As introverts but this also applies to extroverts. And then, after a conversation with attendees, asking them what else comes up for them, I share my four steps that help you to market anxiety-free Awareness about what makes us anxious in marketing. Permission to do marketing your way Figuring out who you really are – ‘Rumbling with your story’ according to Brene Brown Apply more of you to your marketing If you’d like to join us for this conversation and go deep into this topic of Marketing Anxiety please go to sarahsantacroce.com/workshops to sign up. There’s also another one at the end of August with the topic ‘How Marketing and Abundance are related’. Would love to see you there.

Welcome to the 16th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. It’s time for another muse episode, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to invite you to be part of the Gentle Business Revolution.   Change is in the air… And today I’m not talking about the Marketing Paradigm change. I’m talking about this podcast. This month I’m celebrating 2 years of the Introvert Biz Growth Podcast and I think I’ve mentioned a few times that adding a podcast to my business was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This show has helped me become the person I am today, an introverted quiet leader, has helped me develop relationships with other introverted entrepreneurs that I still have today and it has helped me gain confidence in how I show up. And now it’s time again to make a change. Because if you’re always doing things the way you’ve always done them, then you’re not growing. If you’re a regular listener you have heard me talk about the Gentle Business Revolution and Anxiety-Free Marketing many times before. So I hope it won’t be too much of a shocker that I’m ready to rebrand the Introvert Biz Growth into the Gentle Business Revolution Podcast, or something along those lines. I haven’t decided yet on the exact name, but the content will be aligned with that mission. And a new way of marketing where me come back to the Human Connection. I’m in the middle of planning out the content, because I want to be more deliberate in choosing my guests, who are aligned with my values and my mission. Right now it looks like I will create seasons around the different Ps of my Anxiety-Free Marketing model> Passion, Personal Power, People, Product, Pricing, Promotion and Partnership This transition will happen over the next few months. I still have some great interviews with introverted entrepreneurs planned for you until the summer. I’m sure you realize that just because the show is no longer called ‘Introvert Biz Growth’ I won’t all of the sudden become extroverted or bring in Gary V or other loud and obnoxious guests with crude language. It’s just that the focus is not so much on the introvert anymore, but on the message. And I’ve come to realize that it’s often the introvert who’s reflecting on how things are not working anymore and propose change towards a more sustainable and holistic solution. I hope you’ll continue to follow me on this journey as I know that it’s you, the quiet leader who can bring more empathy and kindness to the business world. If you’d like to find out more about Anxiety-Free Marketing and the 7 Ps please visit anxietyfreemarketing.com. The official launch is planned for September. You can also send me an email to sarah@sarahsantacroce.com for more info.   Thanks for listening.    

Welcome to the 15th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. It’s time for another muse episode, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to invite you to be part of the Gentle Business Revolution. I know I missed a week, but I’m back! I want to talk about ‘Taking things slow’. I was on a podcast interview yesterday called ‘Hack Your Online Business’. Chrys, the host was lovely but I could tell she was a bit surprised by my approach of slowing down the sale but just went with me intuition that it was ok to share my way. I was mainly talking about relationship building on LinkedIn, explaining that there really are no short cuts and that it takes time to get someone’s trust. But today I want to talk about taking things slow from the perspective of business building, not lead generation. As you know I’m launching another beta round of my new AFM program starting Monday, May 6th. After January’s program ended I felt like I wasn’t done learning this new approach. I needed to do it again. So I went into promo mode to announce the 2nd round. It felt good to promote it and I was happy with the response to my One Page Marketing Plan workshop. I had over 70 people sign up. The workshop was free and people told me they got a ton of value out of it. So much value that I didn’t even get one sale. First I was devastated. Remember the episode about rejection. Yes, I felt like packing it up, no one was interested in yet another marketing program! I was done being vulnerable, doing things differently, getting on a Zoom workshop where people were too shy to take themselves off mute to talk to me. It took me quite honestly a few days to get out of that funk. And then I reminded myself that this is my life’s work, and that I have time. And that it takes time to bring forth change. And that it was normal that after just 1 workshop people were not ready to commit to a 500 dollar program. And I went back to doing. Coming up with a plan to send out some more videos and emails, personalized emails to specific people I’d like to have on this 2nd beta round. And thinking about the big picture as well. If I want this to go big because I think I can have a small impact on how we do marketing online, then I need to think about how to increase awareness. So I’ll be hosting 1 free workshop on a specific topic each month, with nothing immediate to sell, but to tell people that I’ll be officially launching AFM in September. And maybe they won’t be ready then either, and that’s ok, but it will feel less like I’m giving the workshops in an energy of ‘emergency’. I’m sharing this to show that it’s not easy to take things slow. Because our society rewards immediate gains. And if we don’t get those we feel like we failed. But going forward I know that the only way to build a sustainable business is by taking things slow. Slowing down the process when launching a new program. Taking the time to invest in relationships. Talking to people without the intention to sell them anything immediate.   This is what I’m thinking about these days as I’m preparing for the 2nd beta round of AFM. There’s still time to join us. We’re a group of 9 heart-centered entrepreneurs from all over the world (literally: Bosnia, US, Cambodia, England, Malaysia and Spain). We start next Monday, May 6th and you can find out all the details and sign up information at www.anxietyfreemarketing.com   And if you’re listening to this podcast after May 6th you can still visit www.anxietyfreemarketing.com because I will turn this into an online program with video content that gives you access to attend one of the live courses in either January or September. So visit anxietyfreemarketing.com now or send me an email to sarah@sarahsantacroce.com for more info.   Thanks for listening.

In this episode Sarah Santacroce and Heather chat about her journey as an entrepreneur. Sarah shares her expertise and advice on how to market yourself on LinkedIn. We cover so many other topics including how to stop over-giving and under-selling and how to be of social service. “People are people. Where ever they are, they are still people. Even though they might show up differently, you still are going to find people.” – Sarah Santacroce Who is Sarah Santacroce ? Sarah Santacroce is an internationally recognized LinkedIn Specialist & Online Presence Mentor who has personally coached over 1,900 entrepreneurs. She helps them position themselves as experts on LinkedIn so they get clients with ease. In addition, Sarah is known for helping fellow introverts market their business authentically & anxiety-free, sell their services & make a difference. Sarah is the host of the ‘Introvert Biz Growth’ podcast where she has conversations with introverts who have grown their business using their introverted super powers. When she’s not working, she loves adventure & traveling, yoga & nature walks or hanging out with her 3 boys. Highlights: 1:39 Sarah's multifaceted businesses. Her journey start when she moved to a new country and launched her own business4:40 Why LinkedIn is NOT a boring platform 6:35 Over giving and under selling burnout11:00 Be yourself and it will be ok!16:00 The challenge of doing things differently - creating a new way19:30 Social Service versus Social Selling 23:10 Challenges of being an introvert in the online market. 28:20 You can create your own event - you can do it differently33:40 The value of starting a podcast35:05 Focus on your boundaries41:10 Pendulum of we versus me44:30 LinkedIn profile is your mini website 49:00 How to be current and active on LinkedIn54:00 Connect with Sarah and her free gift56:09 Sarah's favourite quotes: “Set a goal so big that you can't reach it until you become the person who can."47:35 Sarah's parting message: “Just be yourself and focus on relationships.” “Who cares about the name of your company. Who cares that your are the founder of... Tell me what it is you do, who you work with and what kind of results you get them.” – Sarah Santacroce Reference: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown  Generations TED Talk with Michael Drew - Pendulum The Marketing Rebellion by Mark Schaefer Connect with Sarah: Websites: http://www.sarahsantacroce.com Sarah's Templates: http://bit.ly/sarahstemplates Sarah's New Program Anxiety Free Marketing: http://www.sarahsantacroce.com/anxietyfreemarketing LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsantacroce/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahsantacroce Connect with Heather: Join our Facebook Community: Ready For More! Women Business Owners Circle Facebook: www.facebook.com/igniteyourmarket/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/heathercameroncoach/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cameronheather/ Free 5 Day Productivity Program: www.igniteyourmarket.com/takecontrol/ Download Your Should Buster: www.igniteyourmarket.com/shouldbuster

Welcome to the 14th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. It’s time for another muse episode, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to invite you to be part of the Gentle Business Revolution. In muse 13, two weeks ago I shared my vision of The Gentle Business Revolution and invited you to join its Gentle Business Alliance. Go back to that episode if you’ve missed. Today’s episode is focused on Anxiety-Free Marketing, the building block of The Gentle Business Revolution. The main mission of the Gentle Business Revolution is to bring more kindness and empathy to the business world. And who says business, says marketing. And as you might know, I’ve been part of this Online Marketing world for over a decade. So it was clear to me that the way we could bring more gentleness to the business world would have to start with a different way of marketing. I've been wearing a mask in marketing for many years. I've lost track of my authenticity countless times in an effort to blend in, to belong, to succeed. I was marketing my business wearing a Chameleon Suit. That suit gave me comfort, because it was fitting for any kind of situation, any kind of client. And with that suit on, I was so adaptable: I blindly followed advice of all the big marketing gurus out there. I tried a little bit of everything. I changed my color depending on the situation. But no more I’m sick and tired of faking it. And I’m sick and tired of seeing other people fake it and using manipulation in marketing. I decided it was time for a different approach! A way to market my business authentically & with integrity. According to my values & beliefs. A gentle & kind way. Without anxiety. Without fear of how other people will think of me. And that's what I'd like to share with you. In January of this year I launched the building block of The Gentle Business Revolution, a new kind of marketing program that I called Anxiety-Free Marketing. 10 brave souls took me up on my invite and joined me on this journey. We spent 10 weeks together, we laughed, we cried, we co-created a marketing paradigm shift, a holistic way to market ourselves. Leisa Peterson, who’s also my personal business coach was one of the participants and I’m excited to share this interview with her where she shares her experience. Interview with Leisa Well, I just announced a 2nd beta round of Anxiety-Free Marketing and here’s why: I see this as my life’s work, together with the Gentle Business Revolution. So if this is supposed to have the impact I want it to have, I know I need to co-create this program together with the ideal client. Too many times have I just created something because I thought there was a need, and then have it be a complete flop. When my mom and I looked at my astrology themes for this year ‘Learning’ was the big one. And boy am I learning. I’m learning to trust in the process. I’m learning to not be perfect. I’m learning what people yearn for. I’m learning that sometimes showing up is good enough. I’m learning to open my heart and let people in. I’m learning to accept myself just the way I am. And it’s all good.   So let me tell you a bit more about Anxiety-Free Marketing Anxiety-Free MarketingTM is a different kind of marketing program. It is a 8-week live virtual training program that reveals an unconventional approach to marketing so that you can grow a successful business that is no longer kept small by fear of what others think. It is designed to not only help you grow your business with ethical marketing practices but also create a more meaningful life – and make the world a better place. Anxiety-Free Marketing is based on a re-modeled version of the 7P’s of Marketing.   This new model is represented in the form of a Mandala, with ourselves in the middle so we can market from within. Why a Mandala ? Because when I looked at the traditional version of the 7Ps and thought that I want to represent marketing as a process coming from within ourselves, this visual of a Mandala came to me. I had been coloring mandalas in the past, so it was intriguing me to do more research. I spoke to some experts and took a course on Mandalas and finally came up with my own representation of the 7Ps of Marketing in the form of a Mandala. My son drew it for me and everything in AFM is now based on this Mandala, even the logo. What I like about it is that the definition of a mandala is that it’s a creative process. It is creative process that brings us closer to centre. Mandalas are also described as cosmic diagrams - attempting to represent the essential elements of the macrocosm in an ordered, coherent manner. Exactly. All the 7Ps (Passion, Personal Power, People, Product, Pricing, Promotion and Partnerships) are essential elements of anxiety-free marketing. And we as the marketer are the center. We market from within. In AFM we cover each of the Ps in one module, oscillating back and forth between the being and the doing, the inner work and the outer work. Who is it for? It is for Heart-centered entrepreneurs who feel anxiety around marketing their business AND Entrepreneurs who are tired of the traditional marketing model and are ready for a paradigm shift. This is not a beginner course, it applies to all levels, whether you’re just starting out or have been in business since 20 years. So if any of this speaks to you, I’d love to have you join us for this 2nd beta round and help to co-create this marketing paradigm shift. We start on May 6th and you can find out all the details on http://www.anxietyfreemarketing.com. I’m also hosting a free 1-Page Marketing Plan workshop on April 26th if you’d like to attend that one first. Details are on the same page at http://www.anxietyfreemarketing.com And if you’re listening to this podcast after May 6th you can still visit http://www.anxietyfreemarketing.com because I will turn this into an online program with video content that gives you access to attend one of the live courses in either January or September. So visit http://www.anxietyfreemarketing.com now or send me an email to sarah@sarahsantacroce.com for more info.   Thanks for listening.

Sarah is an internationally recognized LinkedIn Specialist & Online Presence Mentor who has personally coached, mentored and guided over 1,900 entrepreneurs. She helps them position themselves as experts on LinkedIn, shows them how to find & express their unique voice & stand out as thought leaders. As a result they find their tribe, get the recognition they deserve & a steady flow of clients – with ease & not sleaze.In addition to her LinkedIn expertise, Sarah is known for helping fellow introverts market their business authentically & anxiety-free, sell their services & make a difference. She’s also the host of the ‘Introvert Biz Growth’ podcast where she has conversations with introverts who have grown their business using their introverted super powers. She lives in beautiful Switzerland where she was born and raised, but considers herself an alternative thinking citizen of this world who’s on a mission to bring more kindness to business.When she’s not working she loves adventure & traveling (ask her about her alter ego in Sicily), yoga & nature walks or hanging out with her 3 boys (a husband and two teenage sons).Grab Sarah's templates and watch her free webinar:bitly.com/sarahstemplates and bitly.com/sarahsfreewebinar"Click to view: show page on Awesound

Welcome to the 13th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. And today is the day! It’s ready! The 1st part of the Gentle Business Revolution is ready! And in today’s muse I want to tell you more about it. But I need to start at the beginning and give you some context.   So… I grew up in a peace & love environment called the Colombina, a community living experience co-owned by my parents and their friends. It was an apartment building with 6 apartments, each family had their own apartment, but we spent many hours in other people’s houses, or in the common garden.  It was normal to me, but abnormal to everyone else. I remember my boyfriend at the time, I was 14, giving me weird looks when people would just walk into our front door and ask for salt or eggs that they were missing for their recipe. Again, it was normal to me, but as a teenager it was embarrassing. I was taught early on that I was very privileged to be born in a society that has everything and that this privilege came with a responsibility: take care of our world and take care of those who are not as privileged as me. Once a week my parents invited a refugee to have lunch with us, and learn some German (my mother tongue). The grownups also held monthly meetings to discuss current topics and take decisions together (who’s in charge of the garden, should we invest in a new bike shed, would cat owners please clean up the kids’ sand pit etc etc. Everything was decided in a very democratic way, notes were taken and people were held accountable. Yes, there was sometimes tension that even we kids noticed, but it really taught me that a community is very precious and everything can be figured out in a very civil way. And no, there were no drugs involved and no, we didn’t walk around naked, contrary to the beliefs of our elderly neighbors. As early as kindergarten, I was a quiet leader. It started with our neighborhood kids club including my sister and the other 3 kids of the house, continued throughout the school years where I took over the leading role for projects and then became one of my main roles as an entrepreneur. Over the past 12 years I have coached and mentored entrepreneurs and business owners, helped them get clarity and outside of the box thinking to achieve their marketing and business goals. As an entrepreneur, I made the decision a few years ago, to specialize in helping my clients get clients on LinkedIn. It was a good decision and I don’t regret it one moment. But I’m also a very curious person, and it has become clear to me 2 years ago that LinkedIn was not going to be all I do for the rest of my working life. Which is why I started this podcast, The Introvert Biz Growth show, at the beginning of 2016. I had no business plan, just knew that I wanted to talk to fellow introverted entrepreneurs about how they are making a difference and grow their business. Around the same time I turned 40 and had my ‘mid-life unraveling’ as Brené Brown likes to call it. I did some personal work with a therapist and remember this one particular session where, in tears, I told her: It’s so f***ing hard to be different! (Sorry, I don’t usually swear, but this expression just needed the F word) If I had to summarize my experience in business in one word, then ‘different’ would be it. I always felt that I was different than everyone else out there.  I felt that I was not tough enough. I felt that I was not pushy enough in my marketing. I felt that I did not belong. I felt like I didn’t have enough accolades next to my name. I felt like I didn’t have the same energy everyone else seemed to have. I felt like I wasn’t worthy charging those high rates I saw other people using. And this fear held me hostage for many years… Out of fear of being different or being rejected I changed who I was, tried to be like everyone else, just to fit in. And then, in an epiphany moment, the term “Gentle Business Revolution” came to me. All my life I had been a non-conformist, a rebel. I moved out to live in Paris for a year at 18, then never moved back home. I never went to university, it felt too confining. I had a tiny wedding with a small group of friends in Barcelona, the city where I met my husband while traveling. I had kids early, when everyone else was still in the rat-race… I then started my own business at age 30. Over and over again I did things differently. And yet, in business I seemed to just comply. No more. I knew I could no longer wear the mask, fake it and apply everyone else's templates. I was ready to be the leader of a paradigm shift in business and marketing. With all the non-gentleness going on in the world right now, I think the time is right for a paradigm shift. I guess to me the opposite of gentle is tough. Expressions that come up for me are “she’s a tough business woman” and “business is tough”. Or “it’s business, not personal” or “it’s just business”. All of them have nothing to do with being gentle. I see it as my mission to prove that one can be successful in business by being gentle, not tough. By being personal, not ‘just business’. One of my subscribers recently sent me this sentence: “Throughout the years, my experience of you has been that of a benign presence.” According to Wikipedia this is what ‘benign’ means: gentle and kind. Yes, that’s who I want to be in business. Gentle and kind. Not tough. Gentle, kind and fair. I also realized that I was done acting as a lone wolf. As an introvert, I thought it was just my modus operandi. Until I joined a group of like-minded peers who shared similar goals and aspirations. It’s when I realized how much I was missing these community values that were instilled to me by my parents. There is magic that comes through groups that dates back to our ancestry in tribes who gathered around the fire to connect, debrief and enjoy the company of each other — it is like we are wired to work together and find our highest truths through these interactions. - Leisa Peterson – So I’m coming full circle. And I’m so excited to introduce The Gentle Business Alliance. The Gentle Business Alliance is a global community of women and men with common values who come together and support one another in all areas of life and business. We have two main goals: living a meaningful life and making the world a better place (and we use our businesses to achieve the latter). We believe when we thrive the world thrives and in order to do so, we must focus on the core aspects of our human experience — learning, growing, elevating and expanding together. Our way of making an impact is by bringing more empathy and kindness to the business world. We are very much aligned with BCorp’s tagline “a global movement of people using business as a force for good”. We create win-win-win situations. Win for the world, win for the customer and win for ourselves. We are interested in creating sustainable businesses – not just to create wealth for ourselves, but to make an impact and make this world a better place. Business is ready for a revolution, a gentle revolution.   Who is it for? The Gentle Business Alliance is for you, online entrepreneur or business owner who is seeking to do business differently – in a more gentle way. You believe in collective intelligence, community and helping each other grow. Maybe you have been in business for a few years already, but are tired of the same old. Maybe you’re a new business owner, but see the power in the community. You are looking for more meaning. You are looking to grow your business to make a bigger impact, not just for yourself but for humanity. You want to show up authentically. You are so good at what you do…you just can’t stand the pain of marketing and selling your services in this overcrowded online world where it seems everyone is judging everyone and we’ve completely lost track of what matters most: the human connection! It’s all just too hard and you are tired of being a lone wolf. That’s when you know that you are a good fit for The Gentle Business Alliance because you’ll get permission to do business in a gentle way, your way.   In January of this year I launched the building block of The Gentle Business Revolution, a new kind of marketing program that I called Anxiety-Free Marketing. In the next Muse I’ll tell you more about joining me for the 2nd beta test round of Anxiety-Free Marketing in May.   But back to January. 10 brave souls took me up on my invite and joined me on this journey. We spent 10 weeks together, we laughed, we cried, we co-created. And together we birthed the Gentle Business Alliance. Whitaker Raymond was one of the participants and I’m excited to share this interview with him where he shares his experience.   Interview with Whit       So what does The Gentle Business Alliance include? 2 monthly calls around different Marketing/Business topics. Facilitated by me, someone from the group or a guest speaker Occasional guest speakers including members of the Alliance to discuss inspiring topics. Facilitated communications and connections through a private (members only) community group on Mighty Networks. Access to member-led conversations about business and personal topics for those interested in participating. Access to the Anxiety-Free Marketing Online Video Course (8 modules, a value of $497) Access to the live Anxiety-Free Marketing program in January or September, or both J (a value of $697) A mousepad with the Anxiety-Free Mandala (priceless as my son Simon designed the Mandala ;-)   Access to my 14-Day LinkedIn Kick Start Toolkit (a value of $197)   Other bonus programs such as the Infinite Abundance Program by Leisa Peterson (valued at $297) and more to come   What will the monthly conversations be about? A big focus of The Gentle Business Alliance is Anxiety-Free Marketing, because marketing is essential to grow our businesses – and therefore make a bigger impact and make this world a better place. We’ll cover Marketing topics such as: Sales Calls Video Marketing Affiliate Marketing with Integrity Listbuilding Webinars Group Programs Retreats Podcasting Emails Networking in Person Drawing from my Conscious Marketing Mandala  — topics may also include: Passion Personal Power People Product and Services Pricing Promotion Partnership   We go beyond just business topics though – because besides having a successful business, all members of The Gentle Business Alliance truly care about creating meaningful lives for ourselves while also making the world a better place! Together we’ll also unpack life and world topics including: Sustainability Social Justice Abundance thinking The Serving Mindset Stewardship (compassion, generosity, gratitude) Our relationship with money How time & money are related The environmental impact of our business Love & joy as a marketing tool Fair Investing Health & Wellbeing Nurturing strong relationships Spirituality   What else will you get by participating in The Gentle Business Alliance? Besides the more structured sessions you really belong to a global group of like-minded peers where you have the opportunity to be both a student and a teacher — giving and receiving help in uncovering hidden opportunities and generating powerful and meaningful ideas for your life and business. As a result, this is the place where everyone is growing wiser and you will be challenged to grow, multiply and increase your impact in various ways.   How does it work? The Alliance membership is on an annual basis — you can cancel at any time and refunds will not be given. It is an ongoing group. Who else is in The Gentle Business Alliance? The Alliance is a group of maximum 25 conscious entrepreneurs from all over the world.  Members of the Alliance come from a broad background of business types, sizes and growth stages. There is no discrimination depending on revenue in the Alliance. What is the investment to be part of The Gentle Business Alliance? The annual membership is $2000. You can pay on a yearly or quarterly basis (4 x $500), or monthly by request. Even if you pay quarterly, you are committed for the year. When does it start? Unofficially it already started because some of the Founding members will continue on in the Alliance. But officially I’ll be talking to new members as of today. Enrollment is open until we hit 25 members. Next steps If your intuition & heart calls you to take your life and business to new heights and think the Gentle Business Alliance would help you do just that then I’d love to get on a call with you and answer your questions prior to moving forward. I am also available to discuss the potential of my working with you as your coach outside of the Alliance through private coaching - subject to availability. Membership into the Alliance is on an application basis for those who are new to my work so send me an email to request a time to talk and complete the questions beforehand. My email is sarah@sarahsantacroce.com Do you want to be gentle, authentic AND successful in your marketing and business? Create a meaningful life & make the world a better place? Then you are one of these people I want to surround myself with! I can’t wait to meet you Warmly Sarah

Welcome to the 12th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. And it’s almost ready. Tune in for the Muse in 2 weeks when I’m revealing what I’ve been working on all these months and open an invitation to the Gentle Business Alliance. But today I want to talk about fear. Fear that’s holding us back. Fear of rejection. We all have it. It’s just that some of us embrace the fear and do things anyways, and others are held hostage by the fear. As conscious entrepreneurs, we truly care about our contributions to the world. So if people don’t like what we share, it strongly affects us - more than others. Me included. In the AF Marketing program I included an exercise that digs deep into our fear of rejection, as I think it started way before we became entrepreneurs. And I’d like to share that with you today: If we want to clear the blocks around marketing and fear of rejection, we have to go back to the root. We have to go inward. We have to look at our own personal story with rejection. So let me share that exercise with you and the questions btw are inspired by Lauren Sapala’s book Firefly Magic, a book that I highly recommend. I’ll answer the questions from my perspective to serve as an example. What are you most afraid of when being rejected? not being lovable   Can you relate the above fears to any memories in your childhood or youth? Yes, growing up with an emotionally very distant dad. All my life I fought for his approval, his love. And it was holding me back for many years. Until I was able to let it go and forgive him. Did these early rejections trigger some copying strategies that you are still using today? Like not trying out of fear of being rejected? Yes, pretending that I didn’t care. Or fighting harder to prove something to him. Doing more instead of being more.   I was dealing with this just recently as I was promoting my LinkedIn Social Serving Method course. Sign ups were not coming in and I felt that fear of rejection very deeply. I was ready to give up and just stick my head in the sand. Nobody likes what I’m doing. People are not ready for this different approach. So I’m just going to shut up and not talk about it anymore. But then I realized that this is about way more than the number of participants for me. This is about the serving mindset, about coming from abundance instead of scarcity, this is about being more gentle in business. So I took all my courage and continued to share about it. Showing up because it’s important to me, it’s aligned with my values. But at the same time I surrendered and accepted that a small group will be perfect. And I ended up with a small group of exactly my kind of people. People who get it. And I’m so happy I did. In order to make a difference you need to put yourself out there – with vulnerability. And the more people you reach, the more rejections you will get. It’s the law of the universe. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. I hope this resonated with you. If you have any friends who might appreciate today’s muse, why not share it with them. Tune in for the Muse in 2 weeks when I’m revealing what I’ve been working on all these months and open an invitation to the Gentle Business Alliance. And of course there’s next week’s interview as well. Wishing you a wonderful week

Sarah is an internationally recognized LinkedIn Specialist & Online Presence Mentor who has personally coached over 1,900 entrepreneurs. She helps them position themselves as experts on LinkedIn so they get clients with ease. We discuss: The biggest mistake that solopreneurs make when using LinkedIn [1:30] Three questions entrepreneurs should be answering in their LinkedIn headline [5:37] How to organize the content in the summary and the experience section on LinkedIn [7:58] The second biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make when using LinkedIn [11:13] Why LinkedIn is a great platform for people who struggle with self-promotion [13:34] A different kind of mindset entrepreneurs should adopt to ease the discomfort when handling LinkedIn [16:40] What recurring revenue actually means and how Sarah manages the flow of it [19:22] Six ways to customize your LinkedIn invitations [22:05] In addition, Sarah is known for helping fellow introverts market their business authentically and anxiety-free, sell their services and make a difference. She’s also the host of the “Introvert Biz Growth” podcast where she has conversations with introverts who have grown their business using their introverted super powers. When she’s not working, she loves adventure and traveling, yoga and nature walks or hanging out with her three boys. Learn more about Sarah at Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sarahsantacroce) . Brief Description of Gift 6 LinkedIn Invitation Messages to EASILY add the Right Connections! URL for Free Gift https://sarahsantacroce.com/invitation-templates/ (https://sarahsantacroce.com/invitation-templates/) Facebook Twitter LinkedIn 2Shares

Welcome to the 11th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today I have a real treat for you! A conversation with a Peak Performance Mindset Coach. As you know in my new program, Anxiety-Free Marketing we’re really digging into the inner work in order to find out what makes us tick, what are values are, our super powers. But we also look at what’s holding us back, what we’re afraid of and anxious about! And a common theme for introverts is related to limiting beliefs. Why do we undersell ourselves? Why do we have imposter syndrome and constantly think someone else is doing better than us?   That’s some of the great stuff we’re talking about on today’s muse episode. Let me introduce my guest to you.   Nina Cooke is a Peak Performance Mindset Coach, working with successful but stuck, business owners and experts who are frustrated because, inspite of all their hard work, they still aren’t getting the results they want and deep down, know they’re capable of.   Her superpower is DIGGING DEEP to find the root cause of why they’re struggling. And then showing them how they can clear out their subconscious “gridlocks” to leverage their thinking to create more profits, freedom and success.   Nina has been featured in Forbes Magazine and on BBC Radio, and lives in England. Find out more about her on her site at www.ninacooke.co.uk Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. I’m just finish the first beta group for Anxiety-Free marketing now and I’ll be ready to launch the Gentle Business Revolution this May, hopefully. So as we get closer I’ll let you know how you can get involved. For now, just subscribe to the podcast to stay tuned. That’s it for this episode Wishing you a wonderful week    

Welcome to the 10th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages. But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. I talk a lot about Serving in my business. Serving my clients, serving my community. I like that word so much that I transformed the common ‘Social Selling’ into Social Serving. Because we don’t sell on Social Media. We create relationships. We serve our audience with great content. We connect with each other on a human level. I’m sure you have been the victim of getting pitched immediately after accepting someone’s connection request on LinkedIn. Well, this person doesn’t understand that Social Serving Approach. They don’t realize that today’s consumer doesn’t want to be sold to. Today’s consumer wants to make their own decision when they are ready to buy. They will do in depth research, follow you for months and when they are ready, they will contact you and 57% of the buying decision is already made. So as marketers and entrepreneurs we need to slow down the sale. We need to invest in relationships. Because the modern consumer also shops around. And he will much more likely buy from the person he has a personal connection with. Even if the price is higher. And this chance increases even more if the consumer shares the same values as the service provider. There’s an emotional attachment that is much stronger than just a price tag. This applies to any kind of Social Platform. But as you know I specialize in LinkedIn. And as of March 7th I’ll be hosting my LinkedIn Social Serving Method to an intimate group of entrepreneurs who want to learn this method to get more ideal clients on LinkedIn. This is a live online class in a group format. There are 4 90 minute calls, spread over 4 weeks. We cover 3 parts: What it takes to transform your LinkedIn Profile into a Client Magnet The Content Strategy & ways to grow your network, grow your connections All the ways I know to use the LinkedIn database to find more ideal clients for you   You can find out all the details at sarahsantacroce.com/socialserving I’m also hosting a Q&A Zoom call on Friday, Feb 22nd if you’d like to find out if this is for you. Don’t expect an anonymous webinar, but a Zoom call where you’re on video and camera. A discussion between Human Beings. I’d love to see you on that call – or on the program! Check out the details at sarahsantacroce.com/socialserving   Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. A bit more promotional than usual. But hey, I don’t bother you with mattress & underwear ads, so I hope I have your support with this. That’s it for this episode Wishing you a wonderful week

Shownotes and links for this episode can be found at http://sarahsantacroce.com/episode72 Rob Goyette contends that his greatest strength as an introverted entrepreneur is simply acknowledging the fact that he is one. While some of us work to hide the fact that we are introverts, Rob finds that being vulnerable enough to ‘come out’ as an introvert lends to his authenticity and actually helps him land more clients! Rob is a marketing and technology expert who supports coaches and small business owners in attracting and enrolling clients. He has served the coaching community since 2007, first working behind-the-scenes on Christian Mickelsen’s team and then launching his own business in 2014. Today, Rob runs a six-figure business helping clients market their services by reaching the right audience with the right offers at the right time. On this episode of Introvert Biz Growth, Rob explains how his introversion led to the creation of his online business and shares the details of his top three income streams: info products, laser coaching and VIP weekends. He discusses the discomfort he feels in small group peer-to-peer settings, offering insight into the technique he uses to channel nervous energy. Rob also speaks to his decision to focus on doing his best work rather than allowing comparison to push him outside his comfort zone. Listen in to understand how Rob fosters confidence on video and learn how ‘coming out’ as an introvert can generate sales! In this episode you’ll learn… How Rob’s introversion led him to build an internet marketing business. Rob’s innovative 15-minute laser coaching model. How Rob generates revenue through info products and VIP weekends. Why Rob is most uncomfortable in intimate, peer-to-peer settings. The three-finger technique Rob uses to channel nervous energy. The benefit of ‘coming out’ as an introverted entrepreneur. Why Rob decided against live events and product launches. Rob’s insight around comparison as ‘the theft of joy.’ How Rob fosters confidence on video by treating it like an in-person meeting. Why video is crucial in building trust and rapport with potential clients. The daily rituals that give Rob a chance to be alone and recharge. How Rob gets an energy boost from The Adam Carolla Show. How Rob gained the confidence to sell his services for a premium. Rob's favorite quote "Succeeding as an introvert is as simple as realizing that you get most of your energy from being alone rather than being around others. Once you understand this, you can structure your life and business to get enough personal time to excel." *** Become a VIP of my community Be the first to know whenever I release a new podcast or host a special webinar for introverts. And as a welcome present get my '4-part Guide 'How Saying 'NO' Can Help You Grow! http://sarahsantacroce.com/sayno/ *** Other links and resources mentioned in this episode: Rob’s Website Rob on Facebook Rob’s Free Report on Innovative Coaching Models Christian Mickelsen The Silva Method Neil Patel on Digital Marketing in 2019 Video for Introverts Reddit The INFJ Personality Show EP079: INFJs Need More Sleep? Automate Your Webinars Fast Revenue Coaching The Adam Carolla Show Zoom Sarah’s Book List How Saying ‘No’ Can Help You Grow Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed it, I would be super grateful if you'd share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. And if you don’t have it yet, get your free 4-step Guide on How to Say no to Grow. You'll be added to my list as well so I can share the latest episodes and other introvert related resources with you. Also, please leave a review on iTunes. I'm told that they really matter so if you'd take a minute I'd appreciate it. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or on Android to get notified for all my future shows. Warmly Sarah

Welcome to the 9th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today I thought I’d share the story about how I found my WHY. Or maybe how it found me. With the Beta-Group participants of the AF Marketing group we’re talking a lot about meaning, purpose, why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a minute, it’s not the same for everyone. Some people are very clear about their WHY, their mission. Others it takes them a bit more time. I was part of the others. For 10 years, my business was just a means to an end. I started it because I wanted a flexible solution, so that I could also spend time with my boys, see them grow up. Then when I turned 40, 3 years ago, I read Simon Sinek’s book, and this question about the WHY started to come up more and more. That’s also when I started this podcast. It definitely gave me meaning. But it was more of a hobby. I still considered my LinkedIn Business as the breadwinner, and the work I did with Introverts more of a side-hustle. I thought that in my case my WHY was probably outside of work hours. In parallel I did a lot of inner work, first with a therapist, then with a coach. And I dug up a lot of old stories. And then one day it hit me: I got this very clear message that I was supposed to reserve the domain name thegentlebusinessrevolution.com. I couldn’t believe that it was available. Let me explain. Doing this inner work a lot of the paths led me to my dad, who is and was a very important person in my life. Duh, he’s my dad, right? But not only in a healthy way. My dad is a very smart, discreet, somewhat intimidating person. For all of his life he was a leader in socialist movements. He was representing the workers, fighting for justice, of course in a non-violent way. So entrepreneurs, business owners were somehow the enemy when growing up. So when journaling about all this, I realized two things: What had kept my business to the next level, was this feeling of betraying my dad by allying myself with the other side, with the business owners. And, I also realized that that’s exactly my mission, my WHY: bring more kindness & empathy to the business world. And representing his number one value which is social justice. Doing business in a way that is fair, where all parties win, where we can make a difference. So there you have it. That’s how I found my WHY, or how it found me. And again, if you had asked me 18 months ago I wouldn’t have had a good answer… So if you don’t know your WHY yet, I’d say don’t stress out about it. I know that Simon Sinek has a course about finding your WHY. But quite honestly I don’t know if you can just take a course about it. At least not if you’re also doing the inner work at the same time. This stuff is usually hidden deep inside us. As I mentioned before, we’re working on this in the Anxiety-Free Marketing program because I truly believe that that’s where we need to start if we want to market with authenticity. I’ll keep you posted when the program is ready for the public. For now just allow and be open. You’re exactly where you need to be at this moment   Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. That’s it for this episode Wishing you a wonderful week

Welcome to the 7th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages. But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today’s muse is mainly a conversation with Farnoosh Brock, Business Coach and author of several books, the most recent one with the title ‘The Serving Mindset – Stop selling and grow your business’. If you follow any of my LinkedIn work you know that I’ve changed the term Social Selling to Social Serving. We don’t sell on Social, we serve. The day I decided to quit selling and start serving, was such a relief and revelation. I felt so free all of the sudden, not having that I gotta sell thought in the back of my head all the time. Selling and Pricing, one of the P’s in my ‘Anxiety-Free Marketing Program’, are obviously big topics for introverts. We don’t like selling. It feels sleazy and pushy to us. If that’s how you feel as well, I think you’ll get a lot out of today’s conversation with Farnoosh. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. After the conversation with Farnoosh I immediately read her book and can only recommend it. You can find out more about Farnoosh on her website at farnooshbrock.com or order her book directly on Amazon. It’s called The Serving Mindset And, don’t miss the deadline to be part of the co-creation for the Anxiety-Free Marketing program which starts on January 3rd. All the details can be found at sarahsantacroce.com/anxietyfreemarketing Now I wish you and your dear ones a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The podcast will take a short break over the Holidays and we’ll be back on January 11th with the first 2019 episode. Happy Holidays

Welcome to the 6th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today’s muse is again composed of 2 parts: first I muse by myself about Mandalas and how they relate to Marketing and then I’ll also share a quick conversation I had with Tom Schwab, another previous podcast guest, fellow introvert and friend of mine about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity’. So let’s talk about Mandalas and Marketing. I want to start out by reading a quote by Raj Sisodia. " The 21st Century Marketing Paradigm reflects a customer centric mindset that turns marketers into healers where our role is to cure, restore health, soundness and spiritual wholeness." It's a beautiful quote, isn't it?  If you’re on my mailing list you might have seen that I’m currently beta-launching a new kind of marketing program. As I was coming up with the outline for this program I kept thinking back to this quote. And then when I researched the 7Ps of Marketing online, a traditional Marketing model, I saw it very clearly Yes, the Conscious Marketing process is represented in the form of a Mandala. Why a Mandala? "Mandala" is sanskrit for "circle", "essence", or "container". Any creative process that happens in circle can be referred to as a mandala. It is creative process that brings us closer to center Mandalas are cosmic diagrams - attempts to represent the essential elements of the macrocosm in an ordered, coherent manner. Carl Jung, in his exploration of his own interior life, began to make mandalas and discovered how good the process was for helping him peel away the layers and get to his center. He used them in therapy to help others get to their center. So the mandala will guide participants through the program as we discover the conscious version of the 7 Ps. Passion Personal Power People Product Pricing Promotion Process Curious? I’m creating this program for you, dear fellow introvert. The working title is ‘Anxiety-Free Marketing for the Conscious Entrepreneur’. I’m looking for a small group of business owners who are tired of the main stream marketing advice that gives us anxiety and are looking for a  more holistic approach to marketing, one that is aligned with our values, with our strong moral principles. I invite you to check out this Marketing Paradigm Shift that will help you to finally achieve your true potential of a quiet leader. Go to sarahsantacroce.com/anxietyfreemarketing to check out all the details. We start on January 3rd. And now as promised, here’s my conversation with Tom Schwab about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity and what that means to him. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. Again, if the Mandala idea and the idea of Anxiety-Free Marketing piqued your interest, please check out sarahsantacroce.com/anxietyfreemarketing Have a wonderful week

Welcome to the 5th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No editing. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today’s muse is again composed of 2 parts: first I muse by myself about the fear of rejection and then I’ll also share a quick conversation I had with Lou Bortone, another previous podcast guest, fellow introvert and friend of mine about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity’. So let’s talk about this fear of rejection. As conscious entrepreneurs we truly care about our contributions to the world. So if people don’t like what we share, it strongly affects us - more than others. Why does it hurt us more? I think it’s because of our higher level of empathy. We truly care and want to help people. And if they don’t let us help them, or don’t see the value in what we’re trying to share, it really hurts us. It also impacts us more because when we decide to share our gifts with the world and create something (a program, a course, coaching, a book etc.) it takes us a lot more courage to go public than our extroverted counterparts. Which is why it then also hurts more to get rejected. So how do we deal with this fear of rejection? As Lauren Sapala says in her book ‘Firefly Magic’ “If we want to clear the blocks around marketing and fear of rejection, we have to go back to the root. We have to go inward.” So true. We all have our own personal story with rejection. Mine started with my emotionally unavailable dad. Not feeling wanted or loved. What’s yours? What’s your earliest memory of rejection? Take a moment to journal about it. And once you’ve done that deep inner work, it’s time to take out your list of Rejection Healers. These are people you love and trust, mentors, friends, family members… Give them a call or simply imagine them talking to you as you would talk to your own child who experienced a rejection. Soothing, loving and encouraging. In order to make a difference you need to put yourself out there – with vulnerability. And the more people you reach, the more rejections you will get. It’s the law of the universe. So if you don’t have your list of Rejection Healers yet, start writing it now. And now as promised, here’s my conversation with Lou Bortone about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity and what that means to him. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. Don’t  forget to reach out to me and let me know what you think about these Muse episodes. Yay or Nay? So far the feedback I’ve been getting is positive. Iris said that without the editing it feels even more real, as if I was talking to you directly. Which I am ;-) Have a great week Warmly Sarah        

Welcome to the 4th muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No editing. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today’s muse is again composed of 2 parts: first I muse by myself about Chameleons (yes, you heard that right) and then I’ll also share a quick conversation I had with Brenda Knowles, another previous podcast guest, fellow introvert and friend of mine about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity’. So let’s talk about Chameleons. I’ve been marketing my business wearing a Chameleon Suit for many years. Picture a Halloween Onesie. And I’m ready to bet that you are sometimes wearing it too. That suit gives you comfort, because it's fitting for any kind of situation, any kind of client.   And with that suit on, you are so adaptable, you blend in and blindly follow advice of all the big marketing gurus out there. You try a little bit of everything. They tell you to sell on webinars, then that's what you'll try doing. They tell you that they made millions on their latest launch, so you buy their 'launch-system'. They tell you to send out emails 3 times per week, so you think you should do that too. They tell you that videos is the future, so even though just the thought of being in front of a camera makes your hands sweat, you assume that's what you'll have to do. They tell you they made millions (different guru, same message) with Facebook ads, so you start looking into Facebook ads.  They tell you to scale, to hustle, to go big or go home ... The only thing that keeps you going is your Chameleon Onesie! Because without it you're completely lost.   Without it you feel a deep existential anxiety, a feeling that gives you hot flashes, knots in your stomach and keeps you up at night. You can't stop thinking: 'I'm not made for business, I'm not like them, I'm probably not good enough...'   Does that sound familiar? I've been wearing the Chameleon Onsie myself for many years doing all of the above. And I noticed that every introvert I talk to has done the same and lost track of their true authentic self and put on the chameleon suit to blend in. But there is another way. There is a way to market your business with integrity and be true to yourself. And I can't wait to celebrate the day with you when you drop this weight that has been keeping you small for such a long time! And now as promised, here’s my conversation with Brenda Knowles about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity and what that means to her. And she actually brings up this chameleon topic as well. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. Don’t  forget to reach out to me and let me know what you think about these Muse episodes. Yay or Nay? So far the feedback I’ve been getting is positive. Iris said that without the editing it feels even more real, as if I was talking to you directly. Which I am ;-) Have a great week Warmly Sarah

Welcome to the 3rd muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages.   But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No editing. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules and to eventually invite you to the Gentle Business Revolution, when it’s ready. Today’s muse is again composed of 2 parts: first I muse by myself about Financial and then I’ll also share a quick conversation I had with Michelle Evans, another previous podcast guest, fellow introvert and friend of mine about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity’. Can you tell that this is becoming a theme? So let’s talk about Financial Integrity. It’s a term that was introduced to me by friend and mentor Leisa Peterson (episode 53) in her iProsper Money Transformation Program. As integrity is so important to me I immediately adored this expression and ran with it. I wanted to see how I can implement even more Financial Integrity into my LinkedIn business. Here’s what I already had in place: I had different offerings for different budgets. A 12 week VIP Program that teaches you how to get clients on LinkedIn, with one-on-one coaching, and access to video training A Done for You LinkedIn Profile Offer A Done With You LinkedIn Profile Offer 2 video courses, one for the LinkedIn Profile, and the whole 9 yards for LinkedIn for Business In addition to that I have a LinkedIn Bundle, a bundle of ebooks and templates that help you improve your LinkedIn Profile So for now, here’s what I added to my offerings with the idea of having different offers for different budgets: A 12 week group program, same as the VIP, but in a group format A Pay What You Can offer for my LinkedIn Bundle. The Bundle goes for $97, I added an email in my automation sequence where people can pay what they can, minimum price is $25 A 50$ discount off the LinkedIn Profile Quick Fix video course for people who are just starting out (if you want to see this in action go to linkedinprofilefix.com, go to the check out page and when you try to leave and close the page a video in which I reveal the coupon code shows up) Putting these offers in place felt really good. Not to mention the nice emails I receive in return from the Pay What You Can Offer. Really touching. Of course there’s much more to Financial Integrity. Essentially to me it means living by my values. Not always putting the money first. Saying no if you don’t think you can really help a client. Not trick people into something just so they buy it and then not offer value. Find a solution that works for both parties. Etc etc. That too is part of the Gentle Business Revolution.   And now as promised, here’s my conversation with Michelle Evans about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity and what that means to her. Enjoy.   Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. Don’t  forget to reach out to me and let me know what you think about these Muse episodes. Yay or Nay? So far the feedback I’ve been getting is positive. Iris said that without the editing it feels even more real, as if I was talking to you directly. Which I am ;-) Have a great week Warmly Sarah

Welcome to second muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages. But today’s episode is a muse, unedited, raw content. No editing. No intro music. No bells and whistles. I share these muses to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules Today’s muse is composed of 2 parts: first I muse by myself about a quote I came across this week and then I’ll also share a quick conversation I had with Lisa Wells, a previous podcast guest, fellow introvert and friend of mine about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity’. But first the quote. It’s a quote by Carolyn Tate, author of the book ‘Conscious Marketing’. It goes like this: The Business of Business is no longer business. The business of business is making the world a better place. I’ll read it again so you can really soak it in: The Business of Business is no longer business. The business of business is making the world a better place. Does that resonate with you? I’m sure it does, otherwise you wouldn’t be listening to this podcast where we’re all about making a difference. But this quote just really hit home for me and its people who have those same values who I want to surround myself with. People who are in business to make the world a better place. Which is why I’m on a mission to create the gentlebusinessrevolution Because we need more gentle people in business, more kindness, more love.   And now as promised, here’s my conversation with Lisa Wells about the topic ‘Marketing with Integrity and what that means to her. Enjoy. Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this muse. Apologies for the rather poor audio quality this time. Lisa was in a rented apartment in Germany, so not her usual set up. Have a great week Warmly Sarah

Welcome to this first ever muse on the Introvert Biz Growth podcast, the show where I talk to introverts who grow their business and make a difference. I’m Sarah Santacroce, your host. If you’re new here, then I want you to know that this is not the usual format of my regular episodes. I post a new show every other Friday, and it’s always a conversation with a fellow introverted entrepreneur who uses his or her introverted superpowers to make a difference. These shows are edited by Tim, my professional podcast editors who also creates amazing shownotes pages. But as of today, I want to play with something new. I call them Muse episodes. As in ‘to muse’. I’d like to muse about ‘The Gentle Business Revolution’. I just reserved that domain name and couldn’t believe it was available!! So in these short episodes I’d like to share what comes up for me when I think about this term ‘Gentle Business Revolution’ and how I see us introverts really create a new way of doing business. This format is raw. No editing. No intro music. No bells and whistles. So is the content. Full transparency. Vulnerability. No hidden agenda. Open agenda instead; As I already said, I reserved the url thegentlebusinessrevolution.com and plan to build a community of like minded introverts who want to do business the gentle way. So as I build this I’m sharing with you what comes to mind during the process.   These short muses can be inspired from my conversations on this podcasts, from content I’m working on, from experiences I’ve lived, from stories I hear in my mastermind group etc etc. I share them to make you think, to inspire you, to break the rules, and yes, when the community is ready to invite you to join us.   Today I muse about the word ‘Gentle’ and what it means for me. I guess to me the opposite of gentle is tough. Expressions that come up for me are ‘she’s a tough business woman’ and ‘business is tough’. Or ‘it’s business, not personal’ or ‘it’s just business’. All of them have nothing to do with being gentle. I see it as my mission to prove that one can be successful in business by being gentle, not tough. By being personal, not ‘just business’. One of my subscribers recently sent me this sentence throughout the years, my experience of you has been that of a benign presence. I said I was going to be totally transparent so I admit that I had to look up the word benign. To me it was only related to medicine. But when I saw the explanation on Wikipedia I got it. gentle and kind. Yes, that’s who I want to be in business. Gentle and kind. Not tough. Gentle, kind and fair. But this is now. A couple of years ago I went through something that I refer to now as my 'overgiving' burnout. I felt angry at people who just wanted to 'pick my brain' all the time, and not pay me. I had been giving sooo much and was exhausted... I was done being 'Sarah, your friendly girl next door', I was going to be tough. Looking back, it did help me to level up and put up more boundaries, but I also realized that it didn't feel good to always be a bitch. I still wanted to be the 'friendly girl next door' but the 'confident friendly girl who makes her own rules'. As my friend Catherine so wisely said: I think when we make a shift after a realization, there's a tendency for our internal pendulum to swing farther to the opposite of what we've been/what we've not liked. Perhaps only then the easing towards to a solid place of balance between the two extremes is possible. Yes. So true. I had to work through my anger, experience being tough in order to feel that this was not my true nature and come back to being who I really am. The world is ready for the Gentle Business Revolution! That’s it for this first muse episode. I hope you enjoyed my rambles.   Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed it, I would be super grateful if you'd share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. And if you don’t have it yet, get your free 4-step Guide on How to Say no to Grow. You'll be added to my list as well so I can share the latest episodes and other introvert related resources with you. Also, please leave a review on iTunes. I'm told that they really matter so if you'd take a minute I'd appreciate it. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or on Android to get notified for all my future shows. Warmly Sarah

Shownotes and links for this episode can be found at http://sarahsantacroce.com/episode57 Marketing is a necessary part of any online business, but the approach is entirely up to you. In fact, if you want to be successful, it is important to find your own marketing voice and design a method that works with your introversion rather than against it. The ‘get known’ method of constant networking and speaking on stages isn’t for everyone, and there are countless other ways to attract clients that don’t involve collecting business cards or making hundreds of phone calls. Thank goodness! After the birth of her third child in 2012, Michelle Evans walked away from a position in global marketing strategy at Microsoft to start her own marketing consultancy. Today, she focuses on helping entrepreneurs go from ‘simply surviving to predictably SOLD OUT’ by way of marketing funnels and Facebook ads. Michelle also serves as the host of the Marketing Funnel Show podcast. On this episode of Introvert Biz Growth, Michelle shares the story of getting involved in the wrong mastermind and trying to fit the mold of the extroverted marketer. She explains how getting back to her roots and building a sales funnel turned her business around—and taught her to trust her gut. Michelle describes her strength in helping clients find their own authentic marketing voice and the tools she uses to streamline client communication. Listen in for Michelle’s insight on carving out the time to work ON your business (before taking care of clients) and learn how to define the marketing voice that works for you! *** Become a VIP of my community Be the first to know whenever I release a new podcast or host a special webinar for introverts. And as a welcome present get my '4-part Guide 'How Saying 'NO' Can Help You Grow! http://sarahsantacroce.com/sayno/ *** In this episode you’ll learn… Why Michelle left a global marketing position at Microsoft for entrepreneurship. How Michelle’s business evolved to focus on attracting clients with marketing funnels. Michelle’s harrowing experience in a mastermind that was ‘all about the hustle.’ How Michelle turned her business around with an introverted marketing approach. The AHA moment that helped Michelle realize she didn’t have to be someone else. Michelle’s strength in helping clients find a marketing approach that fits them. How Michelle’s business manager supports her in staying visible. Why Michelle blocks the first 90 minutes of each day to work ON her business. How Michelle leverages Dubsado for contracts, auto billing and client communication. How How the World Sees You helped Michelle define her own marketing voice. Michelle’s gratitude around coming to a place of self-acceptance. Michelle's favorite quote "If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.” ~Reid Hoffman Other links and resources mentioned in this episode: Michelle’s Website Michelle on Twitter Michelle on Facebook Michelle on LinkedIn Michelle’s Marketing Funnel Quiz The Marketing Funnel Show Dubsado How to Fascinate How the World Sees You: Discover the Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead Sarah’s Book List Donate to the IBG Podcast Thanks for listening ! Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed it, I would be super grateful if you'd share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. And if you don’t have it yet, get your free 4-step Guide on How to Say no to Grow. You'll be added to my list as well so I can share the latest episodes and other introvert related resources with you. Also, please leave a review on iTunes. I'm told that they really matter so if you'd take a minute I'd appreciate it. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or on Android to get notified for all my future shows. Warmly Sarah