Live In The Feast

Today’s co-host is Austin Church, brand consultant, writer, and freelance coach. Austin is the founder of brand and marketing studio Balernum. He also runs Freelance Cake, a business growth course for freelancers and consultants. Above all else, Austin believes in the power of process.

Austin realized that his perfectionism and intense drive for quality were leaving him burned out and scrambling for profits. He struggled to delegate and couldn’t find the balance between quality and scale. Eventually, Austin discovered that prioritizing process actually gave him the freedom to do what he loved and grow his business simultaneously.

Austin talks about how to decide what needs to be delegated, why taking 10 minutes to prioritize tasks leads to quick wins, and the mindset shift that defined his career.

Main Takeaways

• Time equals money and money equals the freedom to walk away from clients that don’t value your skillset. Selling premium services at a premium rate is key to unlocking that freedom. 
• Standard operating processes (SOPs) are invaluable. If you can automate essential but non-creative tasks and standardize them, you’ll improve the quality of your work because you’ll be free to focus on creating. 
• SOPs also save time with onboarding new employees. Instead of training new hires, create a training and give them access to it. 
• There’s often a conflict between quality and profitability. The more time you spend on a project the higher quality it will be, but the less profitable it becomes. SOPs and smart delegation free up time so you can improve quality without sacrificing profit. Delegation also helps prevent burnout.
• When deciding which priorities need an SOP, think about the tasks you don’t enjoy, the tasks you aren’t great at, and start there.

Links and Important Mentions

• Austin’s Website 
• Austin on Twitter
• Austin on LinkedIn
• Austin on Instagram
• Balernum
• Freelance Cake
• Jim Dethmer: Leading Above the Line [The Knowledge Project Ep. #60]
• Craft & Commerce Conference
• Notion
• Calendly
• Acuity Scheduling

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

In this post-pandemic time, our world has been flipped on its side, and so we have to adjust our businesses and lives in ways no one had planned on. 

I'm super excited to bring on the podcast this season Austin Church, Rob Roseman, Joe Casabona, Eman Zabi, Tom Hirst, Eric Siu, Peep Laja, Samar Owais, Adrienne Barnes, and Chase Dimond to share how they've been adjusting, but most importantly how they've been able to build successful businesses and what made the biggest difference for them to achieve sustainability.

Due to your support in listening to the show, I had the absolute pleasure to hit the 100 episode milestone of this podcast. 

To celebrate that, I brought in friend and fellow podcast host, Matt Medeiros to interview me on the show and ask some of the hard-hitting questions that I've never shared anywhere before.

I'm extremely proud to bring to you Season 9 of Live In The Feast.

If you are ready, let's dive in.

Season 9 dropping Wednesday, May 19th, 2021.

Today’s co host is Alex Panagis. Alex is the founder of Scale Math, an SEO marketing agency with a bit of a twist: they are half agency and half marketing training/community. 

At just 19, Alex is well ahead of a lot of us in figuring out what he wants out of life.  In this episode, we dive into when SEO should be a focus and when you should focus elsewhere. We also talk about why picking a fight and the skyscraper strategies fail for most service-based businesses. 

Alex also talks about what to do when starting out with SEO and content marketing strategies, and what to do after you start getting some significant traffic. Alex also talks about how he knew that he wanted an autonomous career, what clients are looking for when they come to a marketing service, and his strategy for validating content marketing and articles. 

Main Takeaways

• Content marketing isn’t the best path forward for small companies just starting out. There are better ways to scale up, such as SEO or Facebook ads. Once you have market fit, then you can turn to content marketing. 
• Clients don’t necessarily care about your stats, but how much you bring to the table and how much you care about their business, especially when they grow to a large scale. 
• Don’t start your content marketing by heading to Google and figuring out search terms. Write what you know and put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing it for. 
• When you get to the point where you have the resources, focus on being the best in your space. Improve your website, improve your content, and become an authority.

Links and Important Mentions

• Scale Math
• Alex Panagis on Twitter
• When Does Content Marketing Make Sense?

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Kim Doyal. Kim, formerly known as the WordPress Chick, is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker, podcaster, and content strategist. She is the co-founder of The Content Creator’s Planner and has built her lifestyle business using WordPress and podcasting.

After spending much of her early career in retail, Kim started her first online business in 2008. Her initial idea was to sell ebooks. However, she quickly fell in love with WordPress and started building websites. 

In 2013 she launched her podcast, which acted as a coaching platform as well as a way to share her expertise with WordPress. Over time, her business has evolved, and today her Content Creator’s Planner is at the core of what she does. 

In this episode, we talk about getting clarity around what you want to do, what lights you up, and how to start doing that work. We also dive into some of the challenges Kim has faced while growing her business through ads, content, and many different projects.

Main Takeaways

• Showing up and putting in the work will always be the most important thing you can do to facilitate growth. Nothing falls from the sky — you have to work for it and work hard. 
• A lot of people have ideas for products, but few understand how to clearly communicate the intangible work. Showcase the problem, the solution, and the results.
• It’s better to provide your existing customers with better content and more meaningful information, rather than chasing numbers in advertising. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Kim Doyal
• Content Creator's Planner

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Gina Horkey. Gina specializes in helping people learn hard digital marketing skills to launch their own online service-based businesses.

Gina’s background includes professional writing, online business consulting, and a decade of experience in the financial services industry. 

After leaving the corporate world in 2014, Gina started by offering her services online. She eventually pivoted to teaching people what she was learning and all of the things that were working well for her.

Throughout our conversation, Gina talks about how to adjust to the new world of shutdowns and moving online, how to pivot if you’ve lost some of your income due to budget cuts, and lesser-known tactics of using other social media platforms to bolster your online presence. 

In this episode, we dive into how the freelancer economy has been changing in recent years and what has changed as a result of the pandemic. We also touch on how to adjust if you’ve lost some income during this time. 

Main Takeaways

• Offering services online has become more critical than ever, even for non-digital services. Those that don’t adapt to new ways of doing business will be left behind. 
• You may have to get back out there and do marketing for yourself again. Don’t be afraid to take smaller projects even if it’s not what you’re used to. 
• Focus on increasing your revenue incrementally instead of in large chunks (E.g. $500 more a month instead of $3,000).
• Facebook groups are great places to look for work because they’re tailored by industry and/or niche. 
• There’s plenty of room in the podcast space and an audience for what you want to talk about. It’s a great way to increase your online presence and find new customers. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Gina Horkey
• Horkey Handbook
• Double Your Freelancing
• Ask Rezzz
• Podcast Production School
• Gina on Twitter
• Gina on Facebook
• Gina on YouTube

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Reuven Lerner. Reuven teaches Python and data science to companies around the world and has been self-employed since 1995. In addition to his corporate training business, he also offers numerous online courses, as well as a free weekly newsletter read by 16,000 Python developers. 

In 1992, Reuven was an undergrad at MIT working at the school newspaper. He essentially stumbled into working on the web when he and his classmates built a website for the newspaper. 

Since wide use of the web was so new, he had to learn coding along the way in order to write software to keep their server running. As he continued to learn coding languages, he started doing software development. When he returned to school to complete his Ph.D. he began doing more and more training sessions.

Reuven made proactive changes within his business model to adjust for the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather than see it as a setback, he saw it as an opportunity. We talk about some of those changes and how he plans to move forward post-pandemic.

We also talk about having a skill that the market has a need for and being able to recognize that opportunity and capitalize on it, as well as how to look at opportunities and evaluate them effectively for your business. 

Main Takeaways

• The best way to sell whatever you’re providing is to solve a specific problem. The better you can describe this problem and how you solve it, the more likely you are to get customers. 
• Learning in person is ideal, but given the state of the world, there are advantages to distance learning in terms of accessibility, scalability and the ability to rewind and reassess topics. 
• Sometimes B2B and B2C markets are totally distinct. The crossover between marketing to individuals and getting corporate gigs isn’t as pronounced as you might think. 
• Leveraging your past experiences to create a foundation for your next endeavor is important. There are skills you gain from your hobbies and jobs that can usually transfer from one thing to the next. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Python Workout by Reuven M. Lerner
• Reuven Lerner
• Reuven on Twitter
• Jack McDade

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Erin Flynn. Erin currently operates Successfully Simple with Erin Flynn where she helps business owners of all kinds (freelancers, designers, developers, marketers) build and streamline their businesses.

In 2012, after leaving her day job, Erin found herself making websites. After discovering that she could be more profitable by narrowing her focus, she decided to help other business owners do the same. She’s learned the importance of momentum and appreciating the journey. 

In this episode, we talk about how she got started building websites, her entry into the entrepreneurial space, the “aha” moment that made her realize she could work less and make more, and how she manages to juggle all the different services she offers while keeping her business afloat.

Main Takeaways

• Looking at your business retrospectively and recognizing what got you to where you are today is the best way to figure out how you should move forward and what your strengths are. 
• Everyone has to hustle and work hard in the beginning, but that work can pay off in the long run. You’ll eventually hit the point where you will see results. 
• Set expectations immediately, and screen your clients for those that will fit into those expectations. It will make your life a lot easier.
• Approach your business like an experiment; once you're done with a client, go back and look at what worked well and what didn’t. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Erin Flynn
• Erin on Twitter
• Erin on Instagram
• Create an intro packet to streamline your client by screening and onboarding by Erin Flynn

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Ken Westgaard. Ken is the self-proclaimed Launch Dude and helps coaches and course creators plan and execute their launches without the headaches. 

Ken has a ton of wisdom to share about the economic and societal shifts going on right now and how that impacts putting your work out into the world. 

Ken started his career as a graphic designer and eventually moved into email marketing. After a customer called him out on some issues, he had to step back and reexamine what truly made him excited to show up every day. He found that excitement in launches and helping clients navigate the ins and outs of getting their products into the world.

As coaches and providers, there are two main roles we occupy for our clients: the psychologist and the cheerleader. Rather than speaking for our clients, Ken believes it’s important to serve as a guide. 

In this episode, we talk about how Ken started working for himself, why it’s important to trust your gut, and why it’s important to continue launching, even in times of uncertainty.

Main Takeaways

• Trusting your gut and intuition is a learned skill that takes work. But in the end, it will have a significant impact on your business decisions.  
• Just because the world is upside down right now doesn’t mean that people aren’t buying. Many people still have jobs, are still spending money, and still need the products and services you offer.
• Being the face of your business is not about you. It’s a disservice to your prospective clients to not sell or share your expertise and knowledge. 
• When it’s time to launch, you want to press play and go. You don’t want to be bogged down by a bunch of busywork that should have been done before. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Ken Westgaard
• OMG I’m Launching Podcast by Ken Westgaard
• Ken on Instagram

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today's co-host is Miles Beckler. Miles is a veteran online entrepreneur with 17 plus years of experience and expertise in digital marketing and affiliate marketing. He started with MySpace back in 2003, then built an agency, and is now working with his wife full-time on their meditation business.

Miles is on a mission to help business owners focus on what matters most by sharing exactly what's working in internet marketing today. There's always money to be made somewhere, but that’s not what drives him; it’s being of service to others. He’s passionate about spirituality and mindfulness, which is what led to Ask-Angels.com - the business that he and his wife run together.

As the economic landscape continues to shift, we’re seeing many new opportunities crop up while other businesses and sectors completely disappear. Flexibility and a willingness to try new things have always been an important part of successful entrepreneurship, but it’s now truer than ever. 

In this episode, we dive into feeling awkward about publishing, reflecting on your why,  and what that means for you when you get punched in the face.  We also talk about where, how, and why Miles got into digital marketing, why affiliate marketing isn’t just links, and how to figure out where to start creating content when you’re the face of your business.

Main Takeaways

• Affiliate Marketing is a great way to deliver what you need to your high-end clients while still capturing revenue from a segment that isn’t ready to buy your services.
• If you’re building an email list, it’s important to remember the relationship you have with those subscribers and humanize them instead of treating them as numbers. When the time is right, they will look to you for expertise and/or recommendations in your specific niche. 
• Affiliate marketing done right is, “I use this, I love this. It creates these results for me. Let me show you how I use this tool to get these results. And by the way, if you want it, you can just click right here.”
• If you’re getting started as the face of your brand, you need to determine your medium (writing, video,  audio, etc.) and then be dedicated to creating that content on a regular basis. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Miles Beckler’s Site
• Miles’ YouTube Channel
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
• Jab Jab Jab Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuck
• Shure MV-88 Digital Mic

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Mark Asquith. Mark is the founder of Rebel Based Media and a suite of other companies focused on podcasters. Mark is also a repeat guest from season five. 

Self-described as “wandering through life,” Mark found his way to podcasting through many other endeavors. He founded Podcast Websites, which eventually expanded into Rebel Base Media and several sub-brands. 

Mark says he’s never felt like an entrepreneur, though he’s run nearly every kind of business you can think of throughout his career. From angel investing and podcasting to coaching and other client services, you name it, he’s done it.

As an expert at leveraging one business to grow others, Mark is fond of saying, “solve one problem, not do one thing”, and it drives everything he does. 

In today’s episode, we talk about why playing the long game is so important and how to be patient with the market. We also cover how to figure out the next steps when you have a great idea, and how to have confidence in pursuing it. 

Main Takeaways

• If you're on the road to becoming an entrepreneur, have the confidence to take on a task and figure out how to do it later. Take a leap of faith and believe that you're smart enough to figure out how to overcome the challenges you’ll face. 
• There are only three types of tasks: important, interesting, and integral. Important is the stuff you need to get done with your productive time, interesting is what you do to refuel, and integral is maintenance or obligatory tasks. Figuring out which ones fall into which category will help you grow your business.
• Have the confidence to say ‘no’ to an idea now so that you can give it a resounding ‘yes’ later. Make sure you deeply understand your industry before putting out what you think will be a winning product.

Links and Important Mentions

• Mark’s Website
• Mark on Twitter
• Rebel Based Media
• Captivate
• Podcast Websites
• Poductivity
• Live in the Feast Season 5 Episode 3 with Mark Asquith
• Podcast Success Academy
• Mark's TEDx Talk

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram