Making Good: Small Business Podcast

In this special solo episode, I share some personal reflections and life updates that have been on my mind lately. From navigating a new season of motherhood, to letting go of my beloved retail store and making big changes like rebranding my stationery business, I’m diving into how life, business, and mindset all intertwine. I also talk about the power of leaning into your excitement, embracing "good enough," and how your feelings impact productivity. Plus, I share a few thoughts on how AI is making my life easier and how you can design your next few months for success.

This episode is a bit different from the usual on this show, but I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and empowered to make intentional changes in your life and business.


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/261
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

I can’t tell you how excited I am to introduce you to today’s amazing guest, Jen Fuller, because this was one of my favorite conversations ever.

Jen is the founder of Etta Loves, a brand that collaborates with visual experts to design baby sensory essentials that align with babies’ cognitive and visual development. Etta Loves was created after Jen noticed how transfixed her new born was by Jen’s black and white sweater. Her baby, of course, is Etta. From there, Jen’s observation evolved into a full blown business where designers and baby vision experts collaborate to create essentials for little ones and their caregivers that align with babies sensory development.

Jen’s edge as she started her small business? She has a background in marketing! This helped inform how she chose to grow her business, and we really dig into that in this episode. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of product to service-based business, there is so much to take away from our conversation.


Connect with Jen:

• Website
• Instagram (and all other platforms) @ettaloves

MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/260
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

This was not a book Charelle and I were planning on covering for the podcast, and I think we both kind of surprised ourselves by choosing it. But after last month’s read of Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, which while fantastic was definitely not strictly a business book, we wanted to try swinging in the opposite way for this month’s read.

And you know what? While we definitely both had some reservations and don't agree with 100% everything in the book, I think we were both pleasantly surprised!

The subtitle of $100M Offers, is: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No, both encapsulates why this book was so far from our minds as an option for this podcast, and why we were interested in giving it a try. Obviously, Charelle and I are not interested in tactics that make anyone feel stupid. BUT we were also interested in what the author, Alex Hormozi, had to say about creating an offer and setting prices, something we haven’t really covered yet on the podcast. 

Outwardly, Alex Hormozi might appear to you, as he does to me, as typical bro marketer. A strong proponent of hustle at all costs. I disagree with some of what he teaches, but Charelle and I wanted to challenge ourselves. Turned out, this was the perfect book to do it with. We learned a BIG lesson from this read, or at least I did, about taking what serves you without tossing out the baby with the bath water, what a terrible expression. But you get what I mean. I genuinely feel like I learned a lot from this book, and Charelle and I were able to pull out some really useful takeaways.


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/259
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

This episode comes out on Tuesday, September 10th, which means we are just weeks away from Q4, The final quarter of the year. That's October, November, and December.

For many small businesses, these are some of the biggest, most important sales months of the year, not to mention a busy time personally for a lot of us. So I want to help you get prepped for this.

I mentioned that this episode is going to be a little bit different and here's why. Consider this a mini workshop. I just recorded our September big workshop in Making Good Happen, my membership, where I go through my quarter magic method of planning out the months ahead in detail in a way that will spare you the overwhelm and chaos that the end of the year can bring.

So while my session today in the membership was nearly 90 minutes long, came with exercises, a workbook, templates, and resources to make this process easy. I thought today on the podcast, I would simplify the main points and steps in this process so that whether you're a member of making good happen or not, you can get to work planning your best Q4 ever.


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/258
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

It was so so fun to have a fellow crafty person on the podcast! I know that many, many of you center your businesses around a craft, and my guest today literally wrote the book about hers before shifting her focus to supporting and uplifting crafting professionals.   

Abby Glassenberg is the Co-Founder and President of Craft Industry Alliance, the premier trade association for the crafts industry. Abby and her team provide in-depth news coverage, top-notch professional development opportunities, and networking opportunities to connect and collaborate. She is also the host of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, which I had the privilege of joining as a guest in an episode from early May! I’ll link to it in the shownotes. 

Whether you’re a craft professional or not, there is so much applicable advice for anyone trying to start a small business, including some mindset tips. I found Abby’s journey to co-founding Craft Industry Alliance fascinating, I can’t wait for you to give this one a listen.

Connect with Abby:

• Craft Industry Alliance website 
• Craft Industry Alliance on Instagram 
• Craft Industry Alliance on Linkedin 
  
  

MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/257
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

Here’s something I believe with all of my heart

You have a superpower. Specifically, a marketing superpower. 

And I know that probably, we’ve never even met, but I can tell you this with 100 percent certainty. And it gets better! This superpower doesn’t cost you anything. It doesn’t require you to pick up any new skills. It’s something you have access to ALL of the time and you can activate at any time.

This superpower is something that can help you connect with your ideal customers, grow your audience, build relationships and trust, make sales, and do so many of the other amazing things that marketing can do for our small businesses.

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk all about that marketing superpower: what it is, why it’s so powerful, and I’m going to give you some concrete strategies for putting it into action.

MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/197
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

She’s back! I loved talking with Tanessa so much in our last episode of the podcast, episode 254, that I had to have her back on a second time. In our second conversation, we deviated from Tanessa’s expertise in health and wellness to talk about another passion she has: financial independence.

In case you need a refresher or missed the last episode (go check it out because it is SO good), Tanessa is a health and wellness coach who specializes in working with entrepreneurs to eliminate brain fog and wake up well-rested so they can maintain consistent, stable energy throughout the day. She is also the host of the Becoming Limitless podcast, which I highly recommend. 

However, as we learn in this episode, Tanessa’s business is no longer her primary source of income. A few years ago, Tanessa and her husband learned about an investment strategy based on the idea of financial independence, essentially, earning a living through passive income. I was so intrigued by this idea, and wanted to have Tanessa on the show to share her experience taking this route, and what it has meant for her and her family.

 Just a note before we dive in. I loved talking with Tanessa about her journey to financial independence and am so grateful to her for her openness and willingness to share during our conversation. ​​It really shows me what is possible if we're willing to think about our lives and just a slightly different way from what might be considered conventional.

But of course, neither Tanessa, nor I are financial professionals, so this is just sharing about Tanessa's experience. Please consult with a trusted expert before you make any big changes in how you approach and invest your own money.


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/255
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

For a podcast that centers well-being in how we run and market our small businesses, today’s topic is overdue! I am so thankful to have had such a grounded, enthusiastic pro at my side while thinking through how we keep our bodies healthy. Because when we do, our minds (and ultimately our businesses), really reap the benefits.

My guest today is Tanessa Shears. Tanessa helps entrepreneurs double their energy and focus so they can make more money in their businesses. She works closely with business owners to eliminate brain fog and wake up well-rested so they can get more done in less time, maintain consistent, stable energy throughout the day, and feel better than they have in years. She is also the host of the Becoming Limitless podcast, where she tackles a new aspect of wellness in each episode. 

I had so much fun chatting with Tanessa about building habits, nerding out about the Oura ring, (I promise this episode isn’t an ad for them), and so much more, that I decided I needed to have her back on the show! So tune in on THURSDAY for my second conversation with Tanessa, where we deep dive into even more fun stuff. Next time we're talking about financial independence.


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/254
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts

All the details: makinggoodhappen.co

I have been a fan of Brené Brown for about a decade now, and so it is truly mind-blowing to me that we haven’t discussed one of her books for Book Club until now.

Brené Brown is a researcher and self-identified storyteller who has spent the last two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. I first learned about Brené from two incredible TED talks she gave in 2010 and 2012, which I’ll link in the shownotes. From there, I deep-dived into her books, which are also linked.

While Charelle and I both LOVE Daring Greatly and Brené Brown this is one of the least specifically business-focused books we’ve done on the podcast, so we had to get creative in order to connect the themes in Daring Greatly to small business and marketing. BUT, this book was absolutely worth covering on the podcast, as there is so much to pull from, especially some powerful ideas around mindset and mental health that would be life-changing for any small business owner.

If you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, I hope this conversation inspires you to dig deeper!


MAKING GOOD SHOWNOTES:
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/253
CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:
https://instagram.com/laurentilden
GET 100 MARKETING PROMPTS (free!):
https://makinggoodpodcast.com/100prompts