I’m officially on maternity leave! Don’t worry, I recorded this episode before baby Kucirek officially arrived. Actually, as you read this, she might not be here yet…but I’m already winding things down and taking a step back in my business to make the most of the final weeks before baby arrives.

This episode is all about my maternity leave plans and how to plan a maternity leave when you're self employed. 

Episode Highlights:

• How I've been prepping for maternity leave the last several months
• How much time I plan to take off and my returning to work plans
• How I plan to make money during my time off and how I saved up in advance for my maternity leave
• How I set expectations with my clients and figured out what I wanted
• Communicating with clients and making sure all tasks are covered 
• Creating a project plan for my maternity leave and staying on track

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/20  
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek
• Listen to "Episode #13: Surprise! We’re Having a Baby!" to hear more about how we found out we're pregnant and what my pregnancy has been like so far: https://marakucirek.com/13  
• Listen to "Episode #15: A Week In My Life: A Behind The Scenes Look At Business, Pregnancy, Health and More!" https://marakucirek.com/15

 

 

That’s right, it’s already time to start thinking about Black Friday strategy! For so many business owners Black Friday ends up being a last minute idea and super stressful to plan. This year I want to help you avoid all of the Black Friday stress which is why I asked Nicole Boucher to join us and talk about Black Friday marketing ideas! Nicole is an incredible operations and business manager who runs the behind-the-scenes strategy for multiple online businesses. She’s also an absolute genius when it comes to planning and executing all things Black Friday.

Whether you’re already deep in Black Friday planning mode or you haven’t even started thinking about it, this episode is for you! 

Episode Highlights:

• When to start planning for Black Friday Sales

• How long your sale should be

• What types of products you should offer

• How much you should discount your products

• Black Friday trends for 2023

• How to avoid burnout and overwork for you and your team during the holidays

 

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full show notes for this episode at: https://marakucirek.com/19 

• Visit Nicole’s website: https://nboucher.com/ 

• Follow Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nboucher214/ 

• Plan your Black Friday with Nicole’s Launch Plan Template: https://shop.nboucher.com/products/launch-project-plan 

• Listen to episode 18: Unveiling the Biggest Black Friday Trends of 2023: Steal These Ideas for Your Own Promotions: https://marakucirek.com/black-friday-trends

• Download my free Black Friday trends guide: https://marakucirek.com/black-friday-trends-guide

 

Black Friday will be here before you know it, which is why NOW is the perfect time to start planning your Black Friday promotions. Today I’m sharing a roundup of the biggest Black Friday trends we’re seeing this year! Use these trends to plan your own promotions this year and get ahead of the curve. 

Episode Highlights: 

• How to start planning your 2023 Black Friday sales
• 5 Black Friday trends to help you inspire your own sales
• Customer shopping habits this year and ideas to help boost your sales! 
• How to communicate your Black Friday sales plans with customers so they know what to expect

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/18 
• Download the free Black Friday Trends Guide: https://marakucirek.com/black-friday-trends-guide
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek 
• ManyChat: https://marakucirek.com/manychat
• Molly Cahill: https://mollycahill.com 
• Elizabeth Goddard and Low Ticket Offers: https://elizabethgoddard.co.uk/
• Liz Wilcox: https://marakucirek.com/liz 

Today I’m getting vulnerable and sharing all of my BIGGEST business mistakes and regrets. These are the things I would have done differently in business, ways I’ve wasted money and the behind-the-scenes details of my biggest self-sabotaging habits. Episode Highlights:

• The things that were a complete waste of money early on in my business

• How I self-sabotaged by charging really low prices and having a terrible money mindset

• My big regrets about growing an email list

• Passive income mistakes

• How I let imposter syndrome hold me back 

• Costly tax mistakes and when you should move your company to an LLC

 

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes for this episode at: https://marakucirek.com/17

• Connect with Mara on Instagram

 

When it comes down to it, the biggest thing everyone wants to get out of a launch is for it to be successful. After all, you decided to put in all that work to create a course or product in the first place because you had something to share with people, and you knew there was an audience who would find it helpful. And, of course, whether you're launching something for the first time or the 20th time, it's pretty dang important that you actually make money during your launch. That's precisely why I invited Carolyn O'Brien to be a guest on Create a Better Course and talk about launch strategy.

 

Episode Highlights:

• Expanding your launch audience
• Tracking metrics so you know what's working in a launch
• Boosting open and click-through rates on email
• Encouraging people to pay upfront 
• Increasing webinar replay views
• Launch strategies for money during your whole launch (not just cart open and close)
• Giving sales a mid-launch push 
• And so much more!

 

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/16
• Carolyn's website: https://www.metricssuccess.com/ 
• Download Carolyn's the free metrics tracking template: https://www.metricssuccess.com/trackingsheet?utm_source=BetterCourse&utm_medium=podcast&
• Follow Carolyn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynobrienstrategist/ 

Want to take a peek behind the curtains to see what it’s like running a business full-time? This week I’m taking you along and walking you through day by day of exactly what a typical week looks like for me.

I personally love listening to behind-the-scenes episodes like this. I think it’s so interesting to hear exactly how other people are spending their time.

On this episode you’ll hear me talk about my morning routine, what my client work looks like, some of the goals I’m working on in my business and how I’m currently preparing for maternity leave.

Episode Highlights:

• The new morning routine I’ve implemented and how it’s working for me

• Working at coffee shops and the library to maximize productivity

• How I juggle client work with my own business operations

• The different types of things I do each week for my one-on-one clients

• Recording guest podcast interviews 

• Planning my week and organizing the tasks I need to get done.

Links Mentioned:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/14 
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek
• My favorite planner, The Full Focus Planner: https://marakucirek.com/fullfocus

 

Online courses vs memberships - are you wondering which one is better? So many people get stuck on figuring out which one is the best option for their needs, so I made an episode to help with that decision!

Today, I'm sharing the ins and outs of an online course vs membership site, the pros and cons, and who I think would be an ideal fit for each one. Plus, I talk about some strategies to help you to make the decision (and the first action steps to get you started, no matter which one you choose!)

Episode Highlights: 

• The similarities and differences between an online course vs membership site
• The pros and cons of online courses
• The pros and cons of membership sites
• Five questions to ask yourself to find out which one is best for you
• A low-risk way to try out an online course or membership before committing to long-term
• My quick quiz that will make your decision a breeze!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/14
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek 
• Take my free quiz to help you decide if you should create a membership or online course: https://marakucirek.com/courses-vs-memberships-quiz

It’s true! We’re expecting a baby girl in October and we’re over the moon with excitement and joy! This episode covers all the behind-the-scenes details of pregnancy so far!

Episode Highlights:

• How we first found out we were expecting a baby (and how I told my husband)

• My BIGGEST fears around having kids and how I’m navigating them

• Creating a business over the last few years that has given me more space and freedom for family time

• How we told our friends and family

• Finding out the gender

• My symptoms so far 

• Pregnancy Cravings

• Plans for birth

• What I’m planning and preparing for maternity leave

 

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/13
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://instagram.com/marakucirek

 

 

Do you make income from affiliate marketing in your business? For the first four years of my business, I didn’t - and I regret it! I wish I’d started sooner. Anyone can get started with affiliate marketing income - no matter what stage you are at in your business!

In this episode, I’m sharing how I finally got over my big hang-ups around affiliate marketing income and five simple strategies that helped me TRIPLE my affiliate marketing passive income. 

Episode Highlights:

• What affiliate marketing is

• How I worked past my imposter syndrome and started building affiliate marketing income (plus my top tips to get started even if you have a small business) 

• How you can start building affiliate marketing income

• Five strategies that helped me TRIPLE my affiliate income this year

• The top 5 affiliates that generate the most passive income for my business

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Get the full show notes at: https://marakucirek.com/12 
• Connect with Mara on Instagram: https://marakucirek.com/instagram 
• My Riverside landing page:  https://marakucirek.com/riverside-coupon-code 

• Ubersuggest for keyword research: https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/ 

• Thrivecart: https://marakucirek.com/thrivecart 

• Flodesk: https://marakucirek.com/flodesk

• Dubsado: https://marakucirek.com/dubsado 

• Convert Kit: https://marakucirek.com/convertkit 

• Demio: https://marakucirek.com/demio

 

So, you’re building an online course, and the time has come to film the videos (cue the dramatic music!) Obviously, if you’re launching an online course, the videos are a huge part of how you’ll connect with students and, well…actually teach them something. So, how do you do it?   Episode Highlights:

• Your options for the recording process (and my top pick on how to get your videos done!) 
• The best tools and software to make the recording process as smooth as possible
• How to prep for your videos and write your scripts
• The best ways to create more engaging content so that you're students don't click out of your course 
• How to get over your imposter syndrome and hit the record button 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

• Take my free course creation software quiz: https://marakucirek.com/quiz
• My favorite microphone for recording crisp audio: https://marakucirek.com/microphone
• Ringlight: https://marakucirek.com/rightlight
• Loom: https://marakucirek.com/loom
• Canva: https://marakucirek.com/canva