Better Than Big

What if you didn’t need to drastically alter your services to increase your bottom line and find more fulfillment with your work? That’s the question my guest Katie McFarlan and I are exploring in this episode as we talk to you about the small shifts she made to her services, and how those translated into a more sustainable and profitable business. In this episode, Katie and I talk about how she knew it was time to refine her services and about the practical changes she made to each offer. We also talk about the ripple effect this work had in her business and how it helped her market her offers and create 5-figure months with a lot more ease.

Learn more about the Simplified Services Intensive: https://www.ashleygartland.com/simplifiedservicesintensive

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Katie: www.dakotadesigncompany.com

Follow Katie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotadesigncompany/

Doing less with your marketing seems counterintuitive in a highly connected world where being everywhere and posting frequently is the gold standard. But that can be pretty overwhelming for a small business owner and, as my guest on this episode learned, it might not actually be necessary to create great results in your business. Conversion copywriter and messaging strategist Christine Blubaugh joins me to talk about the small shifts she made in her marketing that allowed her to do less and get better results. We talk about how to manage the volume of marketing in your business without overwhelm and about how to bring your audience with you as you simplify your marketing. We also talk about Christine’s experience doubling down on one social media platform and about why it worked so much better for her business and life than being everywhere did.

Learn more about the Better Than Big Intensive: https://www.ashleygartland.com/betterthanbigintensive 

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Christine: http://christineblubaugh.com

Follow Christine on Instagram: http://instagram.com/christineblubaugh

When it comes to operational shifts, it’s easy to focus on the tactics and systems. But if you want to create more ease, satisfaction and growth in your business, it pays to make small shifts in your mindset too. My guest on the podcast today, Tara McMullin, knows this first hand and joins me to talk about the small mindset shifts she made at her business, What Works, to improve her operations and her capacity to serve clients and grow. In this episode, we talk about the operational shifts that have made her business better, about why small changes are extremely effective and about the places where operational changes and mindset shifts intersect.

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Tara and the What Works Community: http://explorewhatworks.com 

Follow Tara on Instagram: http://instagram.com/tara_mcmullin

The truth is that your business doesn't need a big overhaul or need you to make huge, sweeping changes to create a big impact. You’d be far better served to focus on the small shifts because it’s through those small shifts that you can create incredible and lasting change. In this episode, I share why small shifts are at the root of everything good I’ve experienced in my business and explain why they work so much better than big changes. I also share a series of small shifts I’ve made with my operations, my services and my schedule to help you see how simple and effective this approach can be in creating incredible results for you. 

Learn more about the Better Than Big Intensive: http://ashleygartland.com/betterthanbigintensive 

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Connect with Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

One of the things that puts people off about hiring is this idea that they’re going to have to micromanage their contractors or employees. But if you hire the right people and have the right structures in place, you may find that you’re able to lead a team without guiding their every move. Today, I’m talking with Kate Strathmann about the people and structures she’s put in place at her bookkeeping and consultancy practice, Wanderwell, that have helped her lead a team without micromanaging them. We talk about her hiring process, about how she handles employee compensation and team communication and about why she approaches everything in her business through the lens of providing flexibility and great employee care. 

Learn more about The Better Than Big Intensive: https://www.ashleygartland.com/the-simplified-intensive

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Kate Strathmann: https://wanderwellconsulting.com/

Follow Kate on Instagram: instagram.com/_wanderwell_

We often talk about hiring a team by focusing on things like the roles we need to fill and the level of investment we’re comfortable with, which are important topics. But there’s another element to team building that’s equally important to talk about and that’s building a team around strong values and a solid company culture. My guest on the podcast today is Kat Araujo, and she joins me to talk about how she’s hired a diverse team and created an inclusive, open team environment at her branding agency, Afternoon Culture. We talk about why she decided to build her team from a values-driven place, about how her team culture empowers her team members to do their best work and about what it’s made possible for her as the creative director as well. 

Learn more about the Better Than Big Intensive: http://ashleygartland.com/betterthanbigintensive 

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Kat: www.afternoonculture.com

Follow Kat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afternoon.culture/

So often in entrepreneurship, we think about team as having ongoing support in our business. But that approach to building a team didn’t work for today’s guest on the podcast. It only landed her in burnout. Today, Lydia Lee joins me to talk about how that period of burnout led her to redefine her definition of team and change the way she gets support in her business. In this episode, we talk about the importance of defining success based on your terms - especially when it comes to team. We also talk about where to find great support people in the online space and about the mindset shifts Lydia needed to make before she could create a team structure that worked for her. 

Learn More About the Better Than Big Intensive: http://ashleygartland.com/betterthanbigintensive 

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Lydia: https://screwthecubicle.com/

Follow Lydia on YouTube: https://youtube.com/screwthecubicle

When it comes to hiring team support, business owners have a lot of misconceptions - including the idea that you have to hire a big team to make a big impact. My guest Megan Schopieray joins me today to unpack those misconceptions and talk about why you can create a big impact with a small team, and also about how to make it happen. In this episode, we talk about the importance of taking a baby step approach to bringing on support, about why you want to hire generalists and specialists and about the often overlooked benefits of having team support. 

Get The Delegation Plan Workbook: https://www.ashleygartland.com/thedelegationplan

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Get Megan’s How to Hire with Ease Training: https://www.whitespace.team/systems/hiring/

Learn more about Megan: https://www.whitespace.team

Follow Megan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitespaceteam/

I was a dedicated solopreneur for almost a decade before I brought on any sort of support in my business so I get that delegating and hiring don’t always feel easy. But bringing on support has made a huge difference in my business and life. So in this episode, I’m sharing all about my journey from wearing all the hats to leading a small team and what it’s created for me. I tell you about the mindset shifts I had to make to come around to delegating and hiring team members. I talk about when I realized it was time to bring someone on, and who I hired. And I share how I discovered what made the most sense to delegate and how getting those tasks off my plate have helped me in ways I couldn’t see at the start of this journey. 

Get the The Delegation Plan Workbook: https://www.ashleygartland.com/thedelegationplan

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Connect with Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Service-based business owners are often told they can’t scale their 1:1 services without changing their business model. But by leaning into innovation, my guest on the podcast today found a way to dramatically grow her business within the 1:1 model. In this episode, business mentor and success coach Lacey Sites joins me to talk about her revenue-share pricing structure and about why facing constraints led to this innovative solution. We also get into the finer details about what this type of offer looks like, how it works, the tradeoffs of choosing it and how Lacey knew it was the right model for her.

Learn more about the Simplified Services Intensive: https://www.ashleygartland.com/the-simplified-intensive

Learn more about Ashley: https://www.ashleygartland.com/

Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/

Learn more about Lacey: https://www.alituplife.com

Listen to Lacey’s podcast: https://www.alituplife.com/podcast/