Overview:
How much time each week do you spend on administrative tasks? I’m talking about sending client emails, booking dates on your calendar, collecting payments, and generally making sure all of your projects are up to date and where they need to be. Is it 8 hours? 10 hours? Half of your work week?

We all know that taking care of customers is essential to having a successful business. It doesn’t matter what type of business you have - if you have paying customers (and especially if you are providing any type of service), then you are going to be spending time and energy making sure they have a great experience with you (and that you get the job done!). This is just how it works!

But that is time consuming. If you spend a lot of your work week on simply managing projects, you aren’t left with a lot of time to do other things to make sure your business can actually grow. There isn’t a lot of time for strategy.

So, I’m guessing if you’re listening right now and you’ve had a business for a while, you probably DO have some kind of system that you follow to make sure your clients have a consistent experience. But I’m also going to guess that there are some things you could be doing to save yourself even more time and energy AND also give your client an extra-special experience with you.

That’s what we’re talking about today - I’m talking with a systems strategist and  Honeybook Pro, Diana Wei Fang, all about how to use client relationship management tools to make your life easier and your clients happier. 

Diana is the owner of The Finer Points, a social media & systems strategist. She helps creatives and small business owners like you tell your story and reach your people—in less time—through social media and systems. She creates content strategies that mirrors your mission and values, getting your extraordinary work seen by the right people. As a HoneyBook Pro, she also helps transform your everyday tasks into done-for-you business systems on autopilot. 

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 FREE GUIDE: Map Out Your Client Journey
👉 The Finer Points: Diana's Website
👉 Contact Diana

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

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Overview:
In this episode, we’re talking all about one of my favorite subjects - sales. How to sell to your clients. I know that the word sales makes a lot of people feel icky, but what we’re really talking about when we talk about selling is connection. Making a meaningful connection with a potential client. I have a special guest on the show today who has refined and perfected her sales process for her wedding clients, and we’re having a conversation how she has grown her company exponentially in 5 years using specific marketing and sales tools. 

My guest on this episode is Lindsay Williams. Lindsay is a mama, wedding stationer and educator based in Niagara Falls, NY. Through personality packed content, and out of this world customer service, Lindsay has grown her wedding stationery company, from $30k to $300k in yearly revenue in just 5 years.  She is the host of the ‘Build that Business’ podcast and creator of ‘The Wedding Booking Blueprint,’ where she now shares tips, tricks, struggles and triumphs from her experience building, growing and scaling a successful wedding business.

Her goal is to empower wedding professionals to use their own voice and story to create meaningful connections, to build the confidence they need to recognize the unique value they bring, and to then share it with their customers. Through a mix of step-by-step strategies and simple content ideas, she’ll be your biggest cheerleader and tough-love coach.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 50% off Honeybook Membership
👉 50% off Quickbooks
👉 Lindsay's Website
👉 Lindsay's Facebook Group
👉 FREE DOWNLOAD: Grow Your Wedding Business
👉 Build that Business Podcast
👉 Lindsay's Instagram

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥 Want My Very Best Tips?
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Overview:
Scaling your business refers to the ability to grow or increase the amount of work (or sales) exponentially in a sustainable, cost-effective way - and by sustainable, I mean financially AND practically speaking.

Successfully scaling your business means that you have created a structure and framework that allows you to continually grow and sell more or your service - without also having to do more work OR spend so much money that it no longer makes sense.

In the creative service industry world, a scalable business is able to increasingly make more money through taking on bigger clients OR more clients OR both without also forcing the owner to work more and more hours (which eventually becomes unsustainable) OR spending more and more money at the same rate of making more money (which wouldn’t make any sense, right?).

Here’s why scaling your business can be awesome.

First, it can allow you to step back from day-to-day operations (or performing whatever service you are doing) and give you more room to focus on the big picture and be the “visionary” for your company.

Now, I know that you already are the visionary. You started the business, you had the original idea and creativity - you have the vision. But do you ever wish you had more time to work on these big-picture ideas? Scaling could give you the space to do this without dropping the ball on clients, or decreasing quality of your work, or killing yourself working way too many hours.

Scaling can also, in general, give you more time and freedom in your life to do other things. Particularly if you feel burdened by your clients - like you’re on a hamster wheel that you just can’t slow down - scaling could give you more freedom and time. It could allow you to take more time off or have a better work-life balance.

Something else that scaling can do for you that you’ve probably figured out by now - scaling can make you more money without forcing you to work any more hours. I think that sounds pretty good to a lot of us, right? When done well, this is exactly what scalability will do for you (but again - if this is your only reason, that is not a good enough reason to scale! Trust me!).

Finally, and maybe most importantly, scaling your business can allow you to serve more people and spread your mission further than you ever could on a small scale. If you’re passionate about your company’s mission and you’d like to bring that mission to more people - more customers - then scaling can help you do that.

But, back to the original question - is scaling right for you?

Here are the 5 questions to ask yourself:

1. What is my "dream role" in my business?
2. Am I ready to add team members to my business?
3. Am I willing to spend time and money on my business structure?
4. Can I let go of perfectionism for the greater goal of scaling?
5. Am I willing to take on risk?

Of course, there are many other factors to consider before scaling, but after scaling my own business, these are the questions I have found to be most helpful when deciding if you should take the next step!

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 50% OFF Honeybook
👉 50% OFF Quickbooks

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

Overview:
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? I’m guessing that you know the answer to that question. But, do you know how the answer to that question impacts your business? Our personalities impact that way we do business, especially when it comes to interpersonal interactions - both in-person and online. Showing up online and using social media and other online tools to grow your business is something we talk about a lot. If you are an introvert who sometimes feels totally out of their element or comfort zone when it comes to showing up online, this episode is for you. And, even if you’re not an introvert - don’t skip to the next episode.

On this episode, I'm talking with Emma-Louise Parks about how to show up online as an introvert. This episode has something for everyone, and I have a feeling that no matter who you are or what your personality is, you’re going to leave with a new perspective on the online space and being your authentic self within your business.

A little bit more about my guest: Emma-Louise is a Business Strategist & Mindset coach for ambitious introverts, empaths & highly sensitive entrepreneurs, & host of The Ambitious Introvert™ Podcast. She works with entrepreneurs to help them grow & scale successful, sustainable online businesses.

With 10+ years experience she has personally coached over 100 individuals. She is a strategic life coach, trained facilitator, NLP master practitioner & holds accreditations in EFT/TFT & the Law of Attraction.

Spending 17 years as an air traffic controller & 10 years coaching new recruits to the role, Emma-Louise understands the importance of strategy, decision making, confidence & mindset for success. Her focus on clarity, consistency & habits allowed her to build a 7 figure net worth in her 30’s - she now uses these principles to help her clients build solid foundations that support massive levels of growth & success.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 The Ambitious Introvert: Emma-Louise's Podcast
👉 Join Emma-Louise's Facebook Group HERE
👉 Emma- Louise on Instagram
👉 Emma-Louise's Website
👉 50% OFF Honeybook
👉 50% OFF Quickbooks

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
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Overview:
I was recently talking to a friend who is starting her own business from the ground up and she was asking me what most surprised me in my first year of business. It got me thinking about all the unexpected elements of being a business owner - so much so that I was inspired to make this episode!

I thought it was such a great question, I never thought to ask this myself. But thinking back, there are so many unexpected, surprising elements of being a business owner that I really wish I had known at the beginning! So that's what I'm sharing on this episode on the podcast.

My hope is that this list will inspire, encourage, inform or teach you something new. 

The 10 Things That Surprised Me Most About Owning A Business

1. You don't need anyone's permission to start a business.
2. It takes money to make money…kind of.
3. You don’t need to know all the answers.
4. You might miss having a boss.
5. It's possible to make more money than you ever expected.
6. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is hard.
7. You will get support from unexpected people.
8. You'll miss the office (sometimes). 
9. You need to know your “true north” to really flourish.
10. You might just fall in love with entrepreneurship itself!

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 How to Hire Your First Associate Online Course: Learn More
👉 50% OFF Honeybook
👉 50% OFF Quickbooks

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

Overview:
What, right now, is stopping you from achieving what you’re dreaming of? Did you think of something specific? Or maybe a few things? For many of us, we feel held back by something - whether it be a lack of knowledge or a skill set, or even fear. Today, I’m talking with special guest Amanda Joyce Weber about common myths, or false beliefs, that hold us back from being successful, and also exploring what we can do to overcome these things.

More about Amanda: She is a mindset and sales coach who helps online business owners who are struggling behind the scenes to cultivate the mindset they need to land clients and make money on repeat. Through one-on-one coaching and her signature Sincere Sales method, she takes the “ick” out of selling and demystifies what it takes to make money in business so her clients can truly thrive. Her clients have gone on to reduce their working hours, close higher-paying projects, and have their first $18k month.

She is also the host of the podcast, One Simple Shift, that teaches entrepreneurs that their biggest results start with one simple mindset shift. Today, she operates her coaching practice in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado. When she’s not supporting clients, she’s going for early morning trail runs, mid-day walks with her puppy, and Friday sushi dates with her hubby.

On this episode, we address common myths/false-beliefs about money and success as a small business owner. Amanda also has a myth-busting series where she goes into more depth about each of these. Specifically, we cover the false beliefs that:

--I/My business should be "further ahead."

--I need a certain number of followers on social media to make money.

--I need to have it "all together" in order to achieve anything significant.

--I don't know where to get my next client.

Amanda and I discuss what's wrong with these false beliefs and how to overcome them by making one simple shift.

You can listen to Amanda's full episodes (on One Simple Shift) of the myth-busting series here:
Myth #1: “My business should be further ahead”
Myth #2: “I’m not a successful business owner until I’ve had a $10k month”
Myth #3: “Successful people have it all together”
Myth #4: “I need a large social media following to make more money in my online biz”
Myth #5: “I don’t know how to get my next client”

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 One Simple Shift: Amanda's Podcast
👉 Book a Sincere Sales Call with Amanda HERE
👉 Amanda on Instagram
👉 Amanda's Website

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway

Imagine, at this time next year, looking at your bank account and the money you made from your business in the last 12 months, and it’s way more than you made in the past. Not only that, but you feel more balanced, happier, better rested, without a HINT of burnout or exhaustion from over-working. That sounds pretty freaking good to me, what about you?

Today’s episode is focused on this balance - making money & enjoying life - with a particular emphasis on specific strategies that can increase your income without doing more work - in other words, without necessarily taking on more clients or selling more products or working more hours - BUT being strategic in the way you plan so that you can maximize your work and your income and minimize the hours you put in at the office.

RESOURCES
Episode 46: 5 Full-Proof Steps to Achieving a Big Goal
Episode 63: My Magic Formula for Pricing My Business
Episode 18: 5 Stats You Need to Start Measuring TODAY to Grow Your Business
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
50% OFF QUICKBOOKS
50% OFF HONEYBOOK
FREE GUIDEBOOK: 3 Steps to Creating a Personal Vision

Overview:
I don’t know about you, but I am really good at dreaming up a plan. I am a big-picture thinker, and I constantly have new ideas floating around in my head.  Actually executing them and getting results? I am not as good at that! Can you relate?

In the last four episodes of this podcast, I have been walking you through the essentials of how I have grown and scaled my business in the last 2 years. Growth that not only led me to double my business income, but also to be much happier, healthier and stress-free - a life I consider to be much closer to my “best” and “most fulfilled” life than every before. I have called this series REFOCUS. If you haven’t listened to those episodes yet and are jumping in here - definitely go back and listen to the first 4 they are listed below!

The first three essentials of my REFOCUS series - vision, identity, & business plan - all have been conceptual. They’ve been all about big-picture dreaming and strategic planning. The final week of REFOCUS is all about action. We are going to be talking about how to actually execute your business plan so that it doesn’t just stay in your head or on paper without ever being implemented. This is really important, because those first three essentials won’t get you anywhere if you don’t take action.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Free Workbook: 3 Steps to Creating Your Personal Vision Statement
👉 Episode 46: 5 Full-Proof Steps to Achieving a Big Goal

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
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Overview:
I think the term “business plan” is kind of intimidating.  For me, the term seemed like something you learn how to do in business school, and it only really applied to big businesses. But actually, to be honest, I had no idea what a business plan actually was. Sure, I could have guessed, but if you had asked me to sit down and write a business plan for my business, I would have felt very overwhelmed and had no idea where to even start.

Well, about two years ago, when I made some major shifts in my business, one of the things I did was learn how to write a business plan. And what I learned really surprised me. 

In today’s episode, I’m going to share with you more about writing a business plan. And even more broadly than that, I’m going to share how to strategically plan for your business to grow and scale long-term in a way that is intentional and actually gets results.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Free Workbook: 3 Steps to Creating Your Personal Vision Statement
👉 Episode 46: 5 Full-Proof Steps to Achieving a Big Goal

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club

Overview:
What do you think of when you hear the word “identity?” What about when you think of your own identity? Who are you? Identity is what makes you, you. It’s all those qualities, beliefs, character traits, values - all of those things that make you an individual. That make you unique. Knowing who you are - well, that’s pretty important to being healthy, well-functioning, whole human being.

Our businesses also have an identity, too. And as the owner and creator of that business, we get to have a say about exactly what that identity is. However, a lot of business owners allow their businesses to float along, without a clearly defined identity. In fact, they haven’t ever really thought about who their business is or why.

Is this you? If the answer is yes, or even if the answer is “maybe” - it’s OK! Most businesses don’t START with a clearly-defined identity. This is something that takes time to understand, discover and then clearly define.

But once you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve gained some traction, you have a regular client base - you’re experiencing success! Well, now it’s time to start paying attention to that identity so that you can make it clear to the world (and yourself) exactly who your business is and why.

The reason? Because your identity is the foundation from which you build your business. I’m going to share MORE about why this is important in today’s episode, as well as HOW to clearly define your business’s identity - specifically, 3 different important elements of your identity.

🔥 FREE Resource:
Grab the guide: How to Write a Personal Vision in 3 Easy Steps (Free!) to define your biggest priorities in business & life.

🛠️ Mentioned in This Episode:
👉 Free Workbook: 3 Steps to Creating Your Personal Vision Statement
👉 Episode 46: 5 Full-Proof Steps to Achieving a Big Goal

💬 Let’s Connect:
DM me your biggest takeaway from this episode on Instagram → @HannahBjorndal

📥  Want My Very Best Tips?
Join all the VIP wedding pros getting actionable biz tips on the regular.
👉 Join the VIP Club