Fearless Business Podcast

There's a lot of fear-facing that goes on when you start your own business. It's an immensely scary thing to strike out on your own, without a safety net; to be your own boss and know your success depends on YOU—what you develop, deliver, ship.

It's also scary when your business becomes successful to the extent that you can't do it on your own anymore. The idea of hiring your first employee may be a relief, but going from being your own boss to being someone else's boss comes with a new set of fears: can I afford this? How do I know who to hire? And will I ever really trust this stranger with my baby, my business?

Hiring is hard. Relinquishing control of every aspect of the business you've built is even harder. We know all about it because we've been there.

We knew if we wanted to grow and scale any further, we had to delegate some of the existing workload. And we're happy to report that we went through the hiring process and survived—and we're ready to share what we've learned with you.

Tune in to this week's episode of the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast and you'll hear about:

* how we made the decision to hire (and when)

* how we determined our budget

* the process of writing a job description and where we shared it

* how we narrowed down the field before conducting interviews

* one especially significant criterion that influenced our decision

* how we structured on-boarding for our new employee

Hiring your first employee is a scary step, but it's eventually an essential one if you want to scale and grow! What are your hiring fears— or if you've already successfully added to your team, what did that process look like for you? Grab a latte and let's chat over in Businessese HQ, our private Facebook group.

Liked this episode? Give these a try:

Hiring and Growing Your Team with Shelli Warren

Delegate Like a Boss: Tips for Easier Outsourcing

There's a lot of fear-facing that goes on when you start your own business. It's an immensely scary thing to strike out on your own, without a safety net; to be your own boss and know your success depends on YOU—what you develop, deliver, ship.

It's also scary when your business becomes successful to the extent that you can't do it on your own anymore. The idea of hiring your first employee may be a relief, but going from being your own boss to being someone else's boss comes with a new set of fears: can I afford this? How do I know who to hire? And will I ever really trust this stranger with my baby, my business?

Hiring is hard. Relinquishing control of every aspect of the business you've built is even harder. We know all about it because we've been there.

We knew if we wanted to grow and scale any further, we had to delegate some of the existing workload. And we're happy to report that we went through the hiring process and survived—and we're ready to share what we've learned with you.

Tune in to this week's episode of the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast and you'll hear about:

* how we made the decision to hire (and when)

* how we determined our budget

* the process of writing a job description and where we shared it

* how we narrowed down the field before conducting interviews

* one especially significant criterion that influenced our decision

* how we structured on-boarding for our new employee

Hiring your first employee is a scary step, but it's eventually an essential one if you want to scale and grow! What are your hiring fears— or if you've already successfully added to your team, what did that process look like for you? Grab a latte and let's chat over in Businessese HQ, our private Facebook group.

Liked this episode? Give these a try:

Hiring and Growing Your Team with Shelli Warren

Delegate Like a Boss: Tips for Easier Outsourcing

Yes, that's right.

We're talking GDPR again.

Why? Because it's important. We do not recommend ignoring the new requirements put forth by the General Data Protection Regulation. But also because we've been hearing a lot of questions about the how behind GDPR compliance, and we want to make sure that no one finds themselves non-compliant simply because they were thwarted by the technical how-tos of the process.

Since the tech side of website maintenance is not our strongest suit, we've invited the magician that we entrust our own site to: Jill Sessa of Ultimate WP Help. A digital nomad, Jill travels the country while handling website maintenance and support for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, and in this episode of the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast she guides us through the technicalities of GDPR implementation— and why businesses should view the process as a positive.

It's just simply a matter of having respect for that relationship, and these tech pieces that we're talking about enable you to elevate that entire discussion.

-Jill Sessa

OK: deep breath! We are going to get through this. No problem.

Listen in to hear about:

* how much time you should expect to spend on GDPR implementation

* anonymizing IP addresses in Google Analytics and how that will affect your reporting

* the data that pixels, cookies and Google Analytics collect and how they differ

* what you need to do with your existing email list, and for new subscribers going forward

* Jill's preferred GDPR plugin

* what "the right to be forgotten" means and how to handle that process (including a step that you probably hadn't considered)

* GDPR set-up packages offered by Ultimate WP Help to ensure you are fully compliant

Any further GDPR questions and concerns? Ask away in Businessese HQ.

Resources:

Jill's websites: Ultimate WP Help and JillSessa.com

GDPR Checklist for Influencers

GDPR set-up packages (which include our GDPR compliant privacy policy and we are affiliates for): Businessese.com/GDPRtech

A Survivor's Journey: From Victim to Advocate by Natasha Simone Alexenko

More on GDPR:

The GDPR and U.S. Based Businesses

Yes, that's right.

We're talking GDPR again.

Why? Because it's important. We do not recommend ignoring the new requirements put forth by the General Data Protection Regulation. But also because we've been hearing a lot of questions about the how behind GDPR compliance, and we want to make sure that no one finds themselves non-compliant simply because they were thwarted by the technical how-tos of the process.

Since the tech side of website maintenance is not our strongest suit, we've invited the magician that we entrust our own site to: Jill Sessa of Ultimate WP Help. A digital nomad, Jill travels the country while handling website maintenance and support for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, and in this episode of the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast she guides us through the technicalities of GDPR implementation— and why businesses should view the process as a positive.

It's just simply a matter of having respect for that relationship, and these tech pieces that we're talking about enable you to elevate that entire discussion.

-Jill Sessa

OK: deep breath! We are going to get through this. No problem.

Listen in to hear about:

* how much time you should expect to spend on GDPR implementation

* anonymizing IP addresses in Google Analytics and how that will affect your reporting

* the data that pixels, cookies and Google Analytics collect and how they differ

* what you need to do with your existing email list, and for new subscribers going forward

* Jill's preferred GDPR plugin

* what "the right to be forgotten" means and how to handle that process (including a step that you probably hadn't considered)

* GDPR set-up packages offered by Ultimate WP Help to ensure you are fully compliant

Any further GDPR questions and concerns? Ask away in Businessese HQ.

Resources:

Jill's websites: Ultimate WP Help and JillSessa.com

GDPR Checklist for Influencers

GDPR set-up packages (which include our GDPR compliant privacy policy and we are affiliates for): Businessese.com/GDPRtech

A Survivor's Journey: From Victim to Advocate by Natasha Simone Alexenko

More on GDPR:

The GDPR and U.S. Based Businesses

As an influencer or online business owner, it can feel like there's a whole lot you "need" to do.

You need to be optimizing Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Pinterest.

You need to have a newsletter. Sales funnel. Lead magnet.

You need to be posting content constantly. Guest posting. Posting to Medium. Posting to LinkedIn.

We would argue that all these "need tos" can be distilled into one REAL need: the need to cultivate a community. After that, the decisions are simple: go where your community is and provide what that community needs.

So what does that look like in practice?

Here to talk with us this week about cultivating community to grow your business— and the tools that can help you to do that effectively— is Nicole Culver. A former food blogger, Nicole started her own food company, Blissful Eats, in 2011 and grew her company to over 6 figures in revenue using non-traditional methods like Facebook Ads and email marketing. As she had more success, bloggers and influencers came to her asking for help. Now she focuses on supporting bloggers and influencers so they can grow their reach, get paid what they’re worth, and be the go-to expert in their niche. Nicole shows them how they can work less with the time they have and increase their income by being smart with their growth strategy, by using tools like Facebook Ads.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

* Nicole's evolution from teacher to blogger to food business owner to podcaster to blog business coach

* the value of Facebook groups to build relationships

* the stumbling blocks that get in the way of building a strong influencer business

* the importance of forming a strategy from the start

* one sentence that all bloggers need to eliminate from their conversations

* a huge untapped opportunity that many bloggers and influencers are missing out on

* Nicole's recommendations on optimizing Facebook (Facebook ads vs boosting posts)

* one (not so sexy, sorry!) tip to use RIGHT NOW to grow and scale your influencer marketing business.

You don't need to wait until some point where things will magically unlock.

Because if you keep waiting, then it's just never going to happen.

-Nicole Culver

Resources:

Nicole's website: NicoleCulver.co

The Blogger to Business Program

Fall in Love with Facebook

Nicole on Facebook and the Blissful Bites Community

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

Your thoughts? Lay 'em on us over in Businessese HQ, our own private Facebook community.

As an influencer or online business owner, it can feel like there's a whole lot you "need" to do.

You need to be optimizing Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Pinterest.

You need to have a newsletter. Sales funnel. Lead magnet.

You need to be posting content constantly. Guest posting. Posting to Medium. Posting to LinkedIn.

We would argue that all these "need tos" can be distilled into one REAL need: the need to cultivate a community. After that, the decisions are simple: go where your community is and provide what that community needs.

So what does that look like in practice?

Here to talk with us this week about cultivating community to grow your business— and the tools that can help you to do that effectively— is Nicole Culver. A former food blogger, Nicole started her own food company, Blissful Eats, in 2011 and grew her company to over 6 figures in revenue using non-traditional methods like Facebook Ads and email marketing. As she had more success, bloggers and influencers came to her asking for help. Now she focuses on supporting bloggers and influencers so they can grow their reach, get paid what they’re worth, and be the go-to expert in their niche. Nicole shows them how they can work less with the time they have and increase their income by being smart with their growth strategy, by using tools like Facebook Ads.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

* Nicole's evolution from teacher to blogger to food business owner to podcaster to blog business coach

* the value of Facebook groups to build relationships

* the stumbling blocks that get in the way of building a strong influencer business

* the importance of forming a strategy from the start

* one sentence that all bloggers need to eliminate from their conversations

* a huge untapped opportunity that many bloggers and influencers are missing out on

* Nicole's recommendations on optimizing Facebook (Facebook ads vs boosting posts)

* one (not so sexy, sorry!) tip to use RIGHT NOW to grow and scale your influencer marketing business.

You don't need to wait until some point where things will magically unlock.

Because if you keep waiting, then it's just never going to happen.

-Nicole Culver

Resources:

Nicole's website: NicoleCulver.co

The Blogger to Business Program

Fall in Love with Facebook

Nicole on Facebook and the Blissful Bites Community

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

Your thoughts? Lay 'em on us over in Businessese HQ, our own private Facebook community.

It's amazing to think that 20 years ago, someone graduating with a marketing degree had no experience with social media marketing— because that wasn't a thing yet. Social media as a concept was in its infancy.

Today, it's nearly unimaginable to consider a marketing campaign without a social element.

In between, there were pioneers— bloggers, vloggers and business owners who embraced social platforms as early adopters and established close knit communities of loyal followers. No bots, no apps, no how-to guides, just growing their business and sphere of influence with lots of conversation and the strength of their own vibrant personalities.

This week on the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast, we are super excited to chat with one of those pioneers. Lisa Lehmann of Lisa Lehmann Designs has been designing and creating handcrafted jewelry for over 16 years, and blogging for 15 years. Her passion for creating spills over into creating her online presence and cultivating her online community, and it shows. Her followers love her jewelry, her storytelling, and her voice: testimony to the power of authenticity and a solid brand.

They need to connect with you in order to connect with whatever service or whatever widget you're going to sell. They need to make sure that you're the person they want to connect with and then the rest will follow.

-Lisa Lehmann

Listen in as Lisa discusses:

* how her social media strategy has changed over the years

* cultivating community on social media and keeping up with conversations amidst the noise

* the importance of being authentic

* what she considers to be the "biggest trick" to social media

* using storytelling and consistency to strengthen the voice of your brand

* social media advice for those now starting online businesses

How are you using social media to communicate your brand story? Let's hear it over at our private Facebook group for digital entrepreneurs and small business owners, Businessese HQ.

Resources:

Lisa Lehmann Designs

Lisa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

"The Jamie"

The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna

It's amazing to think that 20 years ago, someone graduating with a marketing degree had no experience with social media marketing— because that wasn't a thing yet. Social media as a concept was in its infancy.

Today, it's nearly unimaginable to consider a marketing campaign without a social element.

In between, there were pioneers— bloggers, vloggers and business owners who embraced social platforms as early adopters and established close knit communities of loyal followers. No bots, no apps, no how-to guides, just growing their business and sphere of influence with lots of conversation and the strength of their own vibrant personalities.

This week on the Businessese Influencer Marketing Podcast, we are super excited to chat with one of those pioneers. Lisa Lehmann of Lisa Lehmann Designs has been designing and creating handcrafted jewelry for over 16 years, and blogging for 15 years. Her passion for creating spills over into creating her online presence and cultivating her online community, and it shows. Her followers love her jewelry, her storytelling, and her voice: testimony to the power of authenticity and a solid brand.

They need to connect with you in order to connect with whatever service or whatever widget you're going to sell. They need to make sure that you're the person they want to connect with and then the rest will follow.

-Lisa Lehmann

Listen in as Lisa discusses:

* how her social media strategy has changed over the years

* cultivating community on social media and keeping up with conversations amidst the noise

* the importance of being authentic

* what she considers to be the "biggest trick" to social media

* using storytelling and consistency to strengthen the voice of your brand

* social media advice for those now starting online businesses

How are you using social media to communicate your brand story? Let's hear it over at our private Facebook group for digital entrepreneurs and small business owners, Businessese HQ.

Resources:

Lisa Lehmann Designs

Lisa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

"The Jamie"

The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna

Within 'difficult' is our greatest opportunity for growth and understanding.

-Lara Currie

How do you handle conflict?

Conflict is a fact of life—when everyone is the same and no one is challenged, nothing changes and nobody learns or grows. It's an easy concept to understand, but a more complicated one to put into practice.

Many of us see any sort of confrontation as being adversarial, and will do pretty much anything to avoid having those difficult conversations. That's an unhealthy habit for anyone, but particularly for entrepreneurs and small business owners! When the buck stops with you, you need to develop those communication skills to help achieve satisfactory resolutions for all parties.

To help us identify and work past our triggers when it comes to conflict and difficult communication, we're joined this week by Lara Currie: coach, speaker, and the author of Difficult Happens. With over 25 years of experience in high conflict positions, she has a unique and intuitive understanding of why people act—and react—the way they do. She is passionate about helping business owners make honest and meaningful connections, live with less stress and anxiety, and establish strong boundaries.

We are all very unique, but with a theme. We bring our own history to any conversation, any interaction, and along with that our expectations and our assumptions.

In this episode, we discuss:

* reactionary stances and the compulsion to defend ourselves

* common difficult conversations small business owners encounter

* different styles of handling conflicts

* the emotions we tend to bring to difficult conversations and how to keep them in check

* why we should seek out difficult situations

* how to prevent a difficult conversation from escalating

* tips on preventing (not avoiding!) conflict and stress

* Lara's recommendations for those who struggle with boundaries in their business

Again, conflict is a fact of life. Hopefully this episode helps you to stop avoiding and start conquering it.

Resources:

Lara's website: laracurrie.com

Virtual Lunch with Lara

Lara's podcast, Difficult Happens ~ Effective Communication for Bosses

Lara on Facebook and Instagram

Difficult Happens: How Triggers Boundaries & Emotions Impact You Every Day on Amazon

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

How do you tend to act, and react, when faced with conflict? Let's talk it out in Businessese HQ.

Within 'difficult' is our greatest opportunity for growth and understanding.

-Lara Currie

How do you handle conflict?

Conflict is a fact of life—when everyone is the same and no one is challenged, nothing changes and nobody learns or grows. It's an easy concept to understand, but a more complicated one to put into practice.

Many of us see any sort of confrontation as being adversarial, and will do pretty much anything to avoid having those difficult conversations. That's an unhealthy habit for anyone, but particularly for entrepreneurs and small business owners! When the buck stops with you, you need to develop those communication skills to help achieve satisfactory resolutions for all parties.

To help us identify and work past our triggers when it comes to conflict and difficult communication, we're joined this week by Lara Currie: coach, speaker, and the author of Difficult Happens. With over 25 years of experience in high conflict positions, she has a unique and intuitive understanding of why people act—and react—the way they do. She is passionate about helping business owners make honest and meaningful connections, live with less stress and anxiety, and establish strong boundaries.

We are all very unique, but with a theme. We bring our own history to any conversation, any interaction, and along with that our expectations and our assumptions.

In this episode, we discuss:

* reactionary stances and the compulsion to defend ourselves

* common difficult conversations small business owners encounter

* different styles of handling conflicts

* the emotions we tend to bring to difficult conversations and how to keep them in check

* why we should seek out difficult situations

* how to prevent a difficult conversation from escalating

* tips on preventing (not avoiding!) conflict and stress

* Lara's recommendations for those who struggle with boundaries in their business

Again, conflict is a fact of life. Hopefully this episode helps you to stop avoiding and start conquering it.

Resources:

Lara's website: laracurrie.com

Virtual Lunch with Lara

Lara's podcast, Difficult Happens ~ Effective Communication for Bosses

Lara on Facebook and Instagram

Difficult Happens: How Triggers Boundaries & Emotions Impact You Every Day on Amazon

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

How do you tend to act, and react, when faced with conflict? Let's talk it out in Businessese HQ.