Design Your Business

Yarrow Magdalena is a web designer and tech mentor, based in Scotland, who creates handmade WordPress websites and supports people in building sustainable businesses that are aligned with their values and fun to work in.

In this episode, we dive into talking about leaving social media, balancing 1:1 work with courses and community-building and what it’s really like to go against mainstream marketing advice.

“I think there’s a calmness that comes from trust, that really nurtures creativity.”

Time Stamps:

1:34 How Yarrow got into web design

3:57 What led to her expanding past 1:1 client work

5:52 Growing a business organically

6:32 Do different offerings have a different audience?

8:00 Stepping back from social media

11:26 Leaving Instagram

13:51 What would it take for her to return to social media?

14:50 The effects of leaving social media on ideas

17:22 Biggest challenge - mindset

21:17 Best result - trust

23:28 Going against the mainstream - marketing

25:23 Finding new business models

26:03 What to consider when moving away from 1:1 work

28:35 Thinking about conversion rates when starting courses

Yarrow’s website - https://yarrowdigital.com/

This episode was produced by Emily Crosby Media. Our original theme music is by Beth Gamgee.

Christy Price is a web designer and course creator, based in Texas. I wanted to talk to Christy about how she has grown the affiliate sales aspect of her business, in order to create a semi-passive income stream to supplement her earnings from 1:1 design work. Affiliate sales can sometimes be done in a pushy and off-putting style, but Christy’s approach is completely different from that: it’s based in integrity and an ethos of serving her clients’ and readers’ needs.

Although she’s enjoyed developing the course creation and affiliate sales sides of her business, she has no plans to give up 1:1 work:

“There’s just something to be said for being a part of someone’s story as their business grows, and I really love that one on one work and creating connections with small business owners and entrepreneurs”

TIME STAMPS:

1:23 Christy’s journey to web design

2:39 Why she moved into courses and affiliate marketing

5:00 Growing your audience towards moving away from 1 to 1 work

7:52 Keeping 1 to 1 work as well

9:09 What prompted the move to affiliate marketing?

11:03 Christy’s guidelines for choosing affiliates

12:54 Creating a working day

14:27 Using group platforms to find clients

16:15 Finding ways to serve clients without relying on time=money

18:20 The best results of a diverse work range

19:52 Going against mainstream advice - Leaving her phD

21:50 Having a safety net

22:35 Christy’s current offering

Christy’s website - https://christyprice.com/

This episode was produced by Emily Crosby Media.

Jacquette Timmons is a financial behaviorist, based in Brooklyn, who helps people make better choices around their money. She’s someone I’ve followed online for years, and I’ve always seen her as the wise, warm and funny big sister of thinking in a more nuanced way about your finances. We talked about how you can’t separate money from emotions, and about the challenges of pricing and of scaling our businesses.

“Don’t try to be calculated about going against the mainstream, but notice what about the mainstream doesn’t sit well with you.”

TIMESTAMPS:

1:16 What is a financial behaviorist?

3:34 Jacquette’s journey

5:50 Money and emotions

6:40 Personal finances

9:01 Pricing

9:56 The challenges in scaling her business

13:20 Defining scaling for herself

14:28 The benefits of a portfolio approach

15:46 Going against mainstream advice

18:40 Jacquette’s advice

Find the full episode transcript here: https://www.sophydale.com/podcast/jacquette-timmons

Jacquette’s website - https://www.jacquettetimmons.com/

Pricing Master Class - https://www.jacquettetimmons.com/pricing-masterclass/

This episode was produced by Emily Crosby Media.

Kerstin Martin is a Squarespace educator, based in the Pacific North West. In this episode we talk about experimenting in business, career pivots later in life and how to make a six-figure income selling courses to a relatively small audience.

“I think if you are a one person business, time is your most precious commodity and also the most difficult one to manage.”

TIME STAMPS

1:23 Kerstin’s journey to web design

4:00 Why course creation?

6:18 Time challenges

7:01 Hustle culture and online courses

8:00 Working without the hustle

9:08 Cross selling

9:45 Trust and community

11:30 Advice for course creators

13:31 Community over competition

16:10 New courses - Squarespace Access, and Squarespace Connect

https://kerstinmartin.com/

This episode was produced by Emily Crosby Media.

Eli Trier is an expert on community and networking, based in Copenhagen. We talked about creating slow, steady, sustainable growth in your business, and basing that growth around building powerful relationships.

“By treating every single person with respect and as a human being, and valuing that connection as a privilege really. In my experience, that’s where growth comes from.”

1:30 Eli’s business journey

2:19 Community projects

3:10 Shifting towards online and courses

4:50 How Eli creates her products

7:03 Eli’s take on networking

10:19 Slow and steady growth

11:15 Cutting out the shoulds

12:55 ‘Love is greater than numbers’ short course

14:29 Creating a bespoke business

15:08 Going against the mainstream

16:27 The first step to a digital product - listen to people

18:00 Hearing themes in the needs

19:34 ‘Love is Greater than Numbers’ Live

Today’s interview is with Eleanor Mayrhofer, who helps business owners get a beautiful and professional website launched in just one day. We talked about basing your business around just one main offer - why Eleanor decided to do that, and what the results have been.

“I knew this time around I just had to focus, I had to focus on one offer; one platform.

People got it. I got it. It was just really clarifying.”

1:54 How Eleanor got into web design

4:55 Creating her Launch in a Day offering

6:06 Being a fast worker

7:00 Focusing on LinkedIn

9:01 Working around a four year old

10:10 Enjoying her offer

11:26 Cutting through clients’ overwhelm

11:50 Worries about focusing on one platform

13:07 Eleanor’s advice - People don’t read!

Today’s interview is with Kate Scott, strategic Web Template Designer for female entrepreneurs. Kate and I talked about how her love of design wasn’t matched with an equal passion for 1:1 client work, and how this combined with balancing a chronic illness with running a business, led to her deciding to change her business model to selling web templates. Make sure you listen in for Kate’s great tips on making the most of SEO and getting sales through promoting her competitors.

Time stamps:

1:13 How Kate got into web design through blogging

2:33 Moving into template design

4:35 The biggest challenge in scaling her business

4:56 The transition into scaling

5:30 Enjoying the process

5:55 Validation for the change

6:37 Kate’s upcoming course

7:40 The unique quality of Kate’s templates

8:44 How to create something unique

9:38 Focussing on SEO

10:34 Going against mainstream advice - promoting competitors

12:44 Kate’s advice

13:22 Moving away from social media

Sarah Moon owns Sarah Moon & Co, a design & strategy studio on a mission to do online marketing differently. 

Timestamps:

5:16 Scaling the business

7:00 Creating a team

9:30 Productizing their offering

16:40 Automation

17:40 De-linking money and time

20:12 Using templates to increase creativity

Sarah's website

This episode was produced by Emily Crosby Media.

Hosted by Sophy Dale.