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“The best way to know what’s going on in your business, and to know your business intimately, is to know your business numbers.”
— Melissa Houston
Is it better to have $1 million in revenue or $300k in revenue? That’s a trick question — and this episode explains why.
My guest Melissa Houston is an certified accountant and financial strategist who makes it easy to understand your business finances — and loves empowering women entrepreneurs to make that money. (I highly recommend checking out her columns on forbes.com.)
Confession: I find it a little overwhelming to look at my own numbers. But trust me, you don’t have to be a numbers person to get BIG value out of this episode, so grab a pen before hitting play.
In this episode, you’re going to learn why all of those 7-figure launches you keep hearing about may not be as impressive as they seem.
Hit play to hear Melissa break down the real and important difference between revenue and profit, how to fix your money mindset, and five steps for revamping your financial picture!
You’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Melissa Houston: Melissa Houston is a Certified Public Accountant, life coach, and entrepreneur who helps 6-figure successful CEOS grow to 8 figures+. She is a Forbes columnist and host of the Business Society Podcast. Her first book Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Running a Profitable Business will be available in 2023.
Highlights:
00:32 Intro
02:02 Meet Melissa Houston!
05:29 Setting your hourly rate
06:27 Profit v. revenue
09:22 How to build wealth in your biz
12:51 Biggest problems business owners face
14:34 Fixing your money mindset
16:25 Unique ability of biz owners to create wealth
21:28 5-step framework
25:22 Where to start!
28:20 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Melissa Houston
https://www.melissahoustoncpa.com
https://melissahoustoncpa.lpages.co/5-step-biz-finance-roadmap
https://thebusinesssociety.co
https://www.thefractionalcfoagency.com
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissahoustoncpa
Instagram: melissahoustoncpa
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CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
“This is one of the self care things that I did: delete social media altogether for 90 days.”
— Amisha Shrimanker
We’re busting some myths on this episode of Captivate + Convert! First up: to grow your business, you have to HUSTLE.
My guest Amisha Shrimanker is living proof that the hustle myth falls flat — taking time off is actually part of her business strategy. Amisha heads up The Copy Crew, a boutique copywriting agency that works with online entrepreneurs and coaches.
I’ll tell you right now: this isn’t a rah-rah motivational episode where we pat ourselves on the back for building businesses we love. We get REAL about the struggle of having to take a cold, hard, honest look at your biz — and then fix everything you’ve been getting wrong.
In this episode, Amisha spills the deets on how she went from being a freelancer with ZERO boundaries to someone who books Fridays off and takes regular vacations from updating her socials!
Hit play and find a new way to work! You’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Amisha Shrimanker: Amisha Shrimanker is the founder of the boutique copywriting agency The Copy Crew.
Highlights:
00:33 Intro
02:12 Meet Amisha Shrimanker!
03:21 From freelancer to agency owner
05:40 The hustle myth + 2020
07:55 The cold hard look
10:08 Extended social media breaks
12:23 Proactive + experimental approaches
18:55 Mindset + scheduling
21:26 Saying no to big opportunities
24:46 Scaling up
26:48 Finding balance
29:12 Restructuring offers
30:25 The “right way”
33:04 Setting boundaries + niching
38:19 Finding a fresh perspective
42:17 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Amisha Shrimanker
https://thecopycrew.com
https://thecopycrew.com/shop/the-ceo-essential-email-scripts
Instagram: @thecopycrew
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CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
“The most effective copy is going to come straight from your customers’ mouths.”
— Melissa Harstine
There are many reasons to choose entrepreneurship over a traditional job. We love to talk about time freedom, the personal fulfilment of being your own boss, and the joy of doing what we love… and yes, all those things are great!
But many of us also start businesses out of health-related necessity — and we don’t talk about that enough!
Customer research specialist Melissa Harstine left her 9-to-5 to build a biz that would allow her the time she needed to manage her chronic illness while rocking her clients’ worlds.
The key? Stripping it down to the most profitable, impactful, manageable elements… and learning how to say no and ditch the rest.
By carving out a super specific micro-niche, Melissa has built a biz that works WITH her strengths and limitations and allows her to thrive on her own terms. In this episode, she shares the goods on how to do less while still delivering AMAZING results… and how having constraints may actually work to your advantage!
Hit play and find a new way to work! You’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Melissa Harstine: Melissa Harstine conducts voice-of-customer research for time-starved copywriters and boutique agencies.
Highlights:
00:34 Intro
01:46 Meet Melissa Harstine!
02:40 Melissa’s journey
04:37 Subtractive approach to business
08:16 Finding the right niche
11:47 Case studies + customer research
14:37 Benefits of micro-niching
18:40 Know when to say “no”
21:11 Marketing WITHOUT social media
25:40 Roundtable breakdown
28:35 Benefits of constraints
32:08 Smarter scheduling
34:25 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Melissa Harstine
https://www.melissaharstine.com
https://www.melissaharstine.com/roundtable
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaharstinecreative
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CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
“It’s almost unavoidable now, to see ‘success’ being a certain dollar amount, and that should be the metric for everybody… I never started thinking that I was going to have a 6-figure anything in my first year. I went into it wanting to work for myself.”
— Katie Kastner
This episode is for all of the mom entrepreneurs out there.
Being a business owner is hard work, but navigating the path of entrepreneurship while ALSO raising young kids turns the dial up to 11 — and I think it’s important to talk about that!
Content writer and strategist Katie Kastner is a mom of two under 10, so she knows ALL ABOUT the challenges of juggling building a business with managing a household.
“I’ve learned that I have to be really patient and graceful with myself, and understand that I am a mom and I am also an entrepreneur,” Katie says. “It’s not like I decided to take on this job and I brought in a team of people to take care of everything else.”
From celebrating small wins to overcoming mom-guilt, we get INTO IT. So put the kids to bed, grab a cup of tea (or wine), and hit play!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Katie Kastner: Katie Kastner is a content writer and strategist who helps small business owners decide on a content marketing strategy that will work best for their business — and then helps them put that plan into action, so that they can discover, connect, and nurture their relationship with their ideal customers.
Highlights:
00:34 Intro
01:34 Meet Katie Kastner
04:53 Discovering copywriting
06:57 Early entrepreneurship struggles
10:13 Reframing “successful business”
15:50 Finding balance
19:59 Reframing “perfection”
23:45 Instant Funnel Bundle
24:46 Letting go of shame around support
29:57 Good enough is good enough
31:16 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Katie Kastner
https://katiekastner.com
https://www.facebook.com/katiewiththewords
https://kastner102.medium.com
Instagram: @katiewiththewords
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Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“There is this outside pressure that we have to reach a certain bar, and I think that’s not the way to go about it… Don’t worry about what the other guru is doing and what your business bestie is doing. This is YOUR business — where were you last year and what do you want to do with it this year?”
— Donna Dube
Let’s unlock a secret weapon in your business: your metrics.
In this episode, Productivity Plus founder Donna Dube shares some great insights on how to match your mission and vision to the metrics that you should be focusing on, in order to maximize your time and your revenue.
Looking at numbers may not be as fun and creative as other aspects of your biz, but they’re definitely going to help you push the needle — if you understand what they’re telling you!
Your metrics help you figure out not only where you’re spending your energy in your business right now, but where you SHOULD be spending it in order to make the biggest impact.
This means the offers and initiatives with the biggest, juiciest profits…
The social platforms driving the most conversions…
… and the content strategies pulling in the most engagement.
You’ll definitely want to take some notes on this one (I did too!)
Hit play and find a new way to work! In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Donna Dube: Donna Dube is the founder of Productivity Plus. She offers her entrepreneur clients personalized strategic business planning and operational management that creates ease, establishes priorities, and provides clarity.
Highlights:
00:33 Intro
01:44 Meet Donna Dube
04:53 Why we don’t like looking at numbers
06:17 What should you track?
08:07 Vanity metrics
09:32 Traffic metrics
12:46 Launch examples
15:38 Comparison game
17:14 Instant Funnel Bundle
18:13 Donna’s process + outcomes
23:41 Redefining success
26:48 Strategic planning
31:59 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Donna Dube
https://www.productivityplusva.ca
https://www.productivityplusva.ca/10-kpis-you-can-measure-today
Instagram: @productivityplusva
---------------------------
Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“If we are focused on the visibility and why we’re afraid to show up, we’re making it all about ourselves, versus making it about the people that we get to impact, whether it’s one person or one million people. ”
—Lisa Benavidez
Not sure where or when you should show up online in order to connect with your dream clients — and not interested in posting on your socials 24/7? This episode is for you!
Showing up and being the face of their business can be a struggle for a lot of women, especially if they’re also juggling motherhood. So keeping it simple is a MAJOR priority.
My guest is Lisa Benavidez, a business strategist who helps women entrepreneurs and leaders create simple and effective visibility strategies that get them front and center when it comes to their ideal clients.
Best of all: you don’t need to be on ALL the platforms… and you DEFINITELY don’t have to be perfect.
You just need to be crystal clear on your messaging.
Your messaging will lay the groundwork for your visibility strategy — and this episode gives you the tools you need to come up with a killer one!
Hit play and find a new way to work! In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Lisa Benavidez: Lisa Benavidez is a business and visibility strategist who helps her clients create a bold online presence that attracts their ideal audience, and then show up, serve, and sell in a way that feels authentic and powerful.
Highlights:
00:34 Intro
01:32 Meet Lisa Benavidez
04:42 Lisa’s own visibility challenges
07:43 Your messaging is the groundwork
10:00 Identifying client-attracting conversations
11:14 Choosing your platforms
14:45 Instant Funnel Bundle
15:45 5-step process for 90 days of content
21:05 You need to repeat yourself
21:43 “Consistent” doesn't mean “every day”
25:44 Lisa’s goodies
28:27 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Lisa Benavidez
https://www.lisabenavidez.com
https://www.lisabenavidez.com/pva [$50 off promo code: Captivate}
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisabenavidez
Instagram: @lisa_benavidez
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Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“One of the things that helped me the most was taking a step back and being realistic... Continual learning is important, but you have to be realistic about how much you can actually take on and how much content you can consume.”
— Peta O'Brien-Day
Where would you end up if you had to rebuild from nothing?
Peta O'Brien-Day is a copywriter and former social worker who had a super challenging path to entrepreneurship after the unspeakably tragic early death of her first husband.
(This is the second half of my convo with Peta — if you haven’t heard last week’s episode, I highly recommend checking it out first to get the full story!)
When we left off last week, Peta had just launched her new copywriting business while caring for two young kids.
In this episode, we dig into the nitty-gritty of the early days of building her biz, including her time management strategies, how she took advantage of time zone differences to better balance her childcare, and how she sifted through best practices and self-help tips to find what worked for HER.
Listen now to learn about Peta’s top advice for biz owners — and why you DON’T actually have the same number of hours in a day as Beyoncé!
Hit play and find a new way to work! In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Peta O'Brien-Day: Peta O'Brien-Day is the wordsmith behind Words By Peta. She helps her clients bring that local, brick-and-mortar business vibe to their website’s marketing content.
Highlights:
00:34 Intro
01:29 Early days of entrepreneurship
04:10 Being realistic about time management
05:24 Peta’s top advice for biz owners
07:13 Hidden teams behind success stories
09:17 Motherhood + entrepreneurship
11:24 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
---------------------------
Peta O'Brien-Day
https://secondtimearound.blog
https://wordsbypeta.com
https://www.facebook.com/wordsbypeta
Instagram: @allwordsbypeta
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Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“I’d grown up being sure that my purpose in life was to have a vocation that really helped people… I don’t think anymore that life should be all about serving other people. Being nice and doing good things for other people is great and really important, but I’m important, too.”
— Peta O'Brien-Day
This week’s episode is the first of a two-parter that digs into some pretty heavy topics.
Peta O'Brien-Day is a nurturing copywriter who helps biz owners nail a clear brand voice and connect with their dreamiest customers.
She’s also a mom who’s had a HELL of a rough road to entrepreneurship.
When Peta was 32 with a two-year-old son, her husband Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer, told he had 18 months to live… and passed not long afterward.
Unbelievably tragic.
Peta was left to guide her toddler and herself through their grief, totally rethink her work and lifestyle… and eventually find love again. Along the way, she started a blog that shifted her career aspirations and led to launch her own biz.
Listen now to hear how she found her way to entrepreneurship after life on hard mode — then tune in next week for Part 2!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Peta O'Brien-Day: Peta O'Brien-Day is the wordsmith behind Words By Peta. She helps her clients bring that local, brick-and-mortar business vibe to their websites and marketing content.
Highlights:
00:33 Intro
01:37 Meet Peta O'Brien-Day
02:45 Peta’s story
08:37 Grieving process
10:37 Starting over
13:04 Support networks
14:58 Speaking about death
19:03 Instant Funnel Bundle
20:03 Leaving youth work
24:20 New love, new work, new baby
28:51 Transitioning to copywriting
32:55 International clients
34:38 Power of blogging
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
---------------------------
Peta O'Brien-Day
https://wordsbypeta.com
https://www.facebook.com/wordsbypeta
Instagram: @allwordsbypeta
---------------------------
Ready to fill your calendar with consistent clients? Grab my Instant Funnel bundle and snag a TON of goodies, including a brand voice and messaging guide and more swipe files than you can shake a stick at!
https://christycegelski.com/instant-funnel
Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“The funnels, and the pop-ups, and all these extra opt-ins — you don’t need those in order to run a successful business. What you want to do is send people to the place you want them to buy, and make sure that they are a good fit for you.”
— Samantha Mabe
If launching (or re-launching) your website is on your To-Do List, then this episode is for you!
My guest Samantha Mabe designs customized Squarespace website for service providers and coaches. Her specialty? Designing simple, strategic websites that help her clients grow their businesses without a ton of unnecessary bells and whistles… built in as little as 8 hours!
Having a great simple website is about more than just snazzy graphics and branding. It’s about offering just the right info in just the right places, so that it’s easy for visitors to figure out whether or not your services are a good fit.
The quicker your dream clients can figure that out, the quicker they can whip out those credit cards!
Depending on the biz, a simple website can be just as effective (or even MORE effective) than a more robust website. This can save you mucho bucks… not to mention weeks of time!
In this episode, Samantha delivers the goods on how to build a swoon worthy website that connects and converts!
Hit play and find a new way to work! In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Samantha Mabe: Samantha Mabe is the creative director and designer for Lemon and the Sea, a website design company that helps service-based entrepreneurs raise their prices and share their expertise.
Highlights:
00:33 Intro
02:02 Meet Samantha Mabe
03:33 Samantha’s journey
05:16 Origin of Lemon and the Sea
06:54 Your website is your home
08:51 What’s a simple website?
10:23 Start with the signature offer
12:15 When to get complex
13:34 Create your flow
16:21 Where to stash your opt-in
17:12 Ditch perfectionism
18:39 Home page
20:58 About page
23:30 Work With Me page + FAQs
30:24 Quiz
31:05 Common mistakes
33:50 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
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Samantha Mabe
https://www.lemonandthesea.com
https://www.lemonandthesea.com/quiz
https://www.facebook.com/lemonandthesea
Instagram: @lemonandthesea
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Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
“Do a time audit… One thing that business owners and CEOs do constantly (and I see so much more in online businesses than brick-and-mortar businesses) is they undervalue their own time.”
— Erika Macauley
If you’ve ever wondered whether an online business manager is a good fit for your business, then you’ll definitely want to tune into this episode!
You can just call my guest, Erika Macauley, the Chief Get-Sh*t-Done Officer.
OBMs and VAs have become extremely popular in the online business world, and I like to say that Erika is the online business manager to the internet stars. She helps visionary entrepreneurs do more of what they like to do… and less of what they don’t.
Sounds great, right?
But… what does an OBM actually DO?
If you need a primer on the magic of OBMs, don’t worry — so did I! In this episode, Erika shares everything you need to know about finding, hiring, and working with the OBM of your dreams. You’ll get the lowdown on what an OBM can do for your biz, at which stage you should think about hiring one, and how to create an amazing onboarding process.
Hit play and find a new way to work! In this episode, you’ll learn:
Subscribe now and never miss a single episode!
About Erika Macauley: Erika Macauley is an integrator, OBM, and project manager. She helps 6- and 7-figure online creative biz owners pull all their ideas into a stress-free, revenue-generating structure and long-term strategy.
Highlights:
00:33 Intro
01:57 Meet Erika Macauley
02:49 Erika’s journey
09:26 Life experience counts!
11:22 What do OBMs do?
14:48 OBMs + launches
16:51 Who should hire an OBM? (+ $$)
21:49 List your pricing on your website
25:11 VAs v. OBMs
29:40 90-day onboarding process
34:45 Money talk!
37:43 The Christy Questions
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review!
--------------------------
Erika Macauley
https://erikamacauley.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-macauley
Instagram: @erika_macauley
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Become biz besties with your subscribers + convert them to clients organically with my brand new freebie How To Write Emails That Sell plus 20 Must Read Newsletter Ideas. This is the most value packed freebie I’ve ever created and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!
https://christy-cegelski.ck.page/26510b4993
CONNECT WITH CHRISTY ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/christycegelski
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