And She Spoke

We’re fifty episodes into this project, so we thought it would be fun to share a bit of personal reflection on this whole podcasting adventure so far. Listen in to hear about our most important (and surprising) lessons as new podcasters, discover the one episode that we almost didn’t release, and check out what’s next for the show. Other Mentions: Good Life Project, Voice-only communication enhances empathic accuracy. Joy: Aston HALOHustle: SuperHi: Learn to Code Now

After spending many months feeling uneasy about the public face of our brand, we’ve made the decision to consciously “embody” the company. We’ve chosen to do this in three ways:   by being very open and honest about our Story by being intentional about our use of Imagery by making decisions from our Values In an era when products and services are increasingly commodified, we believe that embodiment can serve as an antidote. By showcasing our businesses as natural extensions of ourselves, we can bring much-needed authenticity and human connection into the economy. Other Mentions: @hellofunction, Jen Wende, The Four Agreements Joy: Sarah Wilson || first, we make the beast beautifulHustle: Burt’s Buzz

Known for her expertise as a renowned Facebook ads strategist, Amanda Bond gets real with us in this episode about the mindset hurdles she’s had to overcome in order to find success in her business. Amanda has learned to come to terms with her fear of not being “enough” by surrounding herself with people who support her, whether it’s through mindset coaching or within mastermind communities. She’s also learned how to lean into her fears over time and through her daily experience as an entrepreneur. Amanda encourages all of us to view our marketing as expansive (rather than fear-based)… How can we nurture people towards making a better decision for them? How can we create an attractive brand that people are magnetized toward? How can we intuitively find alignment in our businesses? Joy: Brain.fmHustle: Old-school Clipboards Connect with Amanda: The Ad Strategist Facebook Page

After sifting through our own clients’ stories (as well as the experiences of our friends and colleagues in online business), we’ve observed that it takes about eighteen months of consistent daily action in order to create a significant recurring revenue base — what some folks refer to as passive income.  After taking hundreds of our community members through a free 5-Day Challenge last month, where we helped them go from idea to first paying customer, the same question came up over and over… “This was amazing, but what happens next?”  Although asking for the first sale is often the hardest for many of us venturing into entrepreneurship, what happens between day five and day five hundred is what really matters. Consistent daily action sets the stage for predictable recurring revenue. There’s no magic sauce. You need to put in the daily work to see the payoff later.  Because so many of our clients were confused about which specific steps to take to grow their online teaching businesses, we built the Soulful MBA. Here’s a peek at our six-phase course roadmap, where we’ve outlined our best thinking on how to start, develop, and grow a teaching business online: Phase 1 - Build Your Foundation Phase 2 - Develop Your Voice Phase 3 - Create Your Offering Phase 4 - Excite Your Audience Phase 5 - Launch Your Offering Phase 6 - Fine Tuning Other Mentions: Soulful MBA Course Joy: encircledHustle: Joseph Campbell’s Routine

The Internet is chock full of people who are famous for being famous (or famous for teaching other people how to become famous). It’s exhausting.  But we worry that this is more than a mere annoyance. The danger, we fear, is that SO many people with real gifts (and a true calling to teach and serve) are holding themselves back because their lives don’t look like what they see online.  And although we’re in the online business space ourselves, we are constantly impressed with the meaningful work that’s being done daily by our own community online. This is a love letter to our people and a whisper of encouragement to KEEP GOING. Joy: MÛR Lifestyle Hustle: JOBY GorillaPod

So many people in our community share the dream of building an online business, but feel overwhelmed by the process. We’ve taken the entire journey from idea to first customer and distilled it into a free 5-Day Challenge (soulful.mba/5days). While the challenge itself covers the nuts and bolts of creating a digital product, this episode focuses on the reasons why taking your business online is worth considering. Here are some of the major benefits that can come from taking your teaching online: An online offering serves as a de facto insurance policy against your local, brick-and-mortar business or job. If structured properly, your online business can afford you the ability to take a break without significantly cutting into your income. It also gives you much greater geographic freedom. The overhead is extremely low. You have the freedom to take risks and experiment without any real negative implications. The opportunity is big (financially and for impact). The bottom line? It’s smart to build redundancy into your finances. Joy: StripeHustle: From In-Person to Online: 5-Day Challenge

“When perfectionism is driving us, shame is always riding shotgun and fear is the backseat driver.” - Brené Brown‏ In this episode, we discuss the ways that perfectionism holds us back in our businesses. We often see perfectionism used as an excuse for procrastination or as a reason to hold ourselves back once we’ve reached a certain level of success. Here are the 7 perfectionistic tendencies we’ve identified in our own business and with our clients. Listen in to hear how we address each one. You procrastinate until the stars align. You often spend copious amounts of time just to perfect something that just isn't that important. You have an all-or-nothing approach. Inflexibility. You have a very specific manner in which things should be done. Intolerance for mistakes. You are extremely hard on yourself. You focus on the destination, rather than the journey. It’s all about the end result. Your success is never good enough. Joy: Why Brené Brown Says Perfectionism Is a 20-Ton ShieldHustle: Lighting Kit, Ring Light

In our first time featuring a guest on the podcast, we’re bringing you a raw, unfiltered conversation with Kimra Luna. Know widely in the online business and branding community for her unique and rebellious style, Kimra has built her Freedom Hackers® Mastermind Facebook Group to over 60,000 people and leveraged her personal brand into a 7-figure business. In this episode, we discuss Kimra’s unwavering confidence, her fears, her spirituality, her new identity as a single mom to three young boys, and her role as a female founder. We were impressed by her honesty, her authenticity, and her willingness to boldly follow her intuition in business. Other Mentions: Freedom Hackers, Freedom Hackers® Mastermind Facebook Group, Sacred Mama   Joy: Amazon PrimeHustle: Airtable

Once you’ve set goals for yourself in your business, how do stay committed and on track? Are you able to follow through when you’re accountable to others? To yourself? How you manage both external and internal expectations, according to Gretchen Rubin, holds the key to whether (and how) you’ll be able to take consistent action. How do we structure our accountability to one another as accountability partners? What do we think about mastermind groups? Listen in to learn our tips for staying on track with our goals (and why we each have different strategies that work for us). Other Mentions: RRP #317 Joy: Jelena | The FilmHustle: The Four Tendencies Book + Quiz

“There becomes an innate knowing…” When you first start something new, it helps to follow the existing path, seek mentorship, and embrace best practices. At some point, however, you’ll need to start listening to your own intuition. As we’ve matured in our business, we’ve begun to withdraw from the cacophony of advice around us and, instead, turn inward for guidance. It’s been an incredibly liberating, exciting process—and one that is far from complete. In this episode, we discuss our own journeys toward wholeness and the joy that has come from making choices in our business that embrace our core values. Joy: LeVar Burton Reads, to AdultsHustle: Female Lifestyle Empowerment Brand