MAP IT Marketing

What can you do to improve your service based business next year? How can you make your offer more appealing to your ideal clients? And how can you work better, and improve your income so it’s  win win all around? With the recession hanging about making things weird, us all recovering from the weirdest few years in most of living history, and the desire to have more flexibility in our lives for all the things we want to do, making our business work better is KEY.

 

We take time out every year to refine our offer. Yes we make little changes through the year, and test ideas, but we make the biggest changes over the December to January time. This is for a few reasons. The first is that it’s a natural cut off to introduce new price points or new offers. We also have been historically quieter over this period although that’s not been the case for a few years now. And it’s good to have a certain time of the year where we can reflect, and measure - and for us the end of the year feels like a good place to do it!

 

The upshot of our refining last year was me introducing a coaching programme in April. It was initially a thirteen week programme, but is now a 12 month one, due to the requests of the initial people I worked with. Our first monthly intake for that starts in February, and we’ve also got registrations lined up ready to start in March or February already. I’m happy with how that’s moving and there are little changes but not huge ones.

 

However one of our core offers ; our marketing strategy and action plan needed an overhaul. We’re making significant changes to how we’re delivering it, in response to both client feedback, the changing economic situation and my own personal best ways of working.

 

In this episode I’m going to go through all the different things you can consider when you are looking at how you can improve your offer, and talk though which ones fitted us this year, and which ones didn’t

 

If you want a more recession-proved offer, if you know you aren’t in your zone of genius most of the time, if you want to make more money in less time, or you want to deliver a better result for your customers this episode is for you. 

 

 

In this episode we cover:

• Pricing and changes
• Scaling - scaling up or down
• Choosing offers that are one to one or one to many
• Recession proofing 
• Easy ways to add value
• Online vs in person

Important Links

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

Download the free workbook

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

Become a part of our Facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 

I don’t think I’ll ever be tired of hearing busines growth stories about how something began in with a few boxes of stock in a bedroom and now runs out of a huge warehouse. Which is perfect because this is the story of Game Kings

 

Co owner and founder Elliot Jessup started a business selling Cards Against Humanity sets because he wanted to buy them himself. But the road from that to becoming on of the biggest independent game retailers in New Zealand wasn’t without it’s complications, barriers and life lessons.

 

In this podcast Elliot shares his story, including how they had to rename the Facebook community they’d built from scratch for legal reasons, how the couriers used to feel about their original offices, how covid impacted their business, and how he almost gave it all away to while growing another business.

 

He also shares how he’s juggled Game King’s growth alongside his other passion; getting to travel the world with incredible artists, as their touring lighting designer. Not bad for a 27 year old who tried a fair range of jobs before realising he’s best “self employed”! 

 

Game King no longer just sells board games, but is now designing their own, and has found the community they built to be incredible supportive of this. They’re also finding new ways to market their products, including investing in both organic and paid marketing on Tiktok. 

 

If you want to be inspired, and also hear some of the trials and difficulties Game Kings has experienced, and how they’ve overcome them, this is an unmissable episode. 

In this episode we cover:

• How Game Kings started
• What Elliot’s learned about building community
• How the business moved from side gig to main gig
• Why failure has helped Game king experience greater success
• What’s up next for Game Kings

Important Links

Game Kings website

Game Kings on Tiktok

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download the free workbook

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this year I spent two weeks at home recuperating from an operation I chose to have. This was monumental for several reasons. First I haven’t had a length of time like that by myself with no one to look after or do anything for over thirty years. Secondly, it was the first time I felt completely relaxed about spending that time focused on just recuperating, without feeling I needed to swing back into work or back into responsibilities.

 

But it did come at a cost. Even though I’d covered the basics, it did take me out of action leading up and after the surgery, and it did see us drop in revenue for a short period post surgery. This was due to what I already knew would happen - a delayed reaction to less marketing going on.

 

Thankfully it all caught up on itself, and the impact was no where near as big as I had feared. Along with this, I also was experiencing a new realization that the business, as much as I love it, and how important it was to me was not nearly as important to me as… ME

 

Since I made the call to have surgery an bunch of things have changed, and there’s balance in my life. What does that look like as a small business owner, and how has it changed the way I market my business? We cover it all in this week’s episode of MAP IT Marketing. 

 

 

In this episode we cover:

• Why our business suffered from my absence earlier this year
• Why I don’t feel guilt about it
• What I’ve learned from putting my needs before my business
• What had to happen to make it possible
• How long it took to “fix” the impact
• Why I’m askin you to make a similar step

Important Links

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

Download the free workbook

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

Become a part of our Facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marketers used to ignore anyone over forty. And many big agencies still do. And for this Generation Xer who already has a slight chip on her shoulder about being the generation no body talks about… that feels like a big deal now I’m over forty!

 

There’s a bunch of outdated notions around people over forty. There’s even more about women over forty

 

It’s something that our guest today, Sandy Lowres is hitting straight on with her business and movement Women Beyond Forty.

 

Sandy is a passionate proaging advocate, and started the platform the magazine and the podcast all helping raise the profile of women in their forties (and beyond) who are here to share their wisdom, grow great businesses and do a pile of super cool stuff. 

 

If you’re a woman over forty, or if you have a target market directed at women over forty, then this episode will help you see your target market with fresh eyes, and perhaps help you see yourself with the same too!

In this episode we cover:

• Why Sandy chose to focus on a Forty plus market
• Why the 40+ market was traditionally ignored
• What makes this generation of 40+ women so “out there”
• What brands need to know about this age group
• What 40+ business owners should embrace about themselves
• Why some 40+ women struggle with small business ownership
• What’s up next for Sandy and her mission 

Important Links

The Women Beyond Forty website

Women Beyond Forty on Instagram

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download the free workbook

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It never ceases to amaze me how much we often assume that someone else must have a much better handle on things we struggle with, simply because they are more “out there” or doing things that we aren’t. 

 

Self doubt, as far as I can see, happens to pretty much every small business owner. If it doesn’t much now, it might be because they’ve adapted and introduced a pile of effective tools to help keep it in check - but it’s a rare person who hasn’t had an attack or two along the way

When I say I’ve had massive issues with self doubt, some people are often super surprised. I’ve had panic attacks that are so bad I can’t breathe, huge issues with anxiety, and have a regular monthly melt down I know know is almost completely hormonal. Because self doubt isn’t just about what’s happening. It’s about how our mind and body perceives what is happening! And sometimes those two things are very very different

The biggest panic attack I ever had was an hour before our business won a huge award. I’ve had them before speaking to a crowd, that led to thousands of dollars in new business.

Our self doubt is a warning bell to reset, to refresh and recentre.

Today I walk you through eleven things you can do to start treating your self doubt proactively. 

This was also originally a live - presented as a webinar - so if there’s a little distraction here and there that’s why!

In this episode we cover:

• Who gets self doubt
• What it can stem from
• How to reduce it from happening
• What you can do to manage it
• Why it’s so important to be proactive

Important Links

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

Download the free workbook

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

Become a part of our Facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perzen Patel is on a mission. Sure she’s the co-founder of a curry paste company, and loves nothing more than hearing that “ding” on the Shopify website (seriously… who doesn’t! That little ding is dopamine in a sound!), but what she really wants to do is shift Kiwi’s perceptions about Indian food.

The idea many of us have of Indian food is an easy takeaway curry, with food that wouldn’t be most Indian’s normal everyday food. Those curries are rich, and often served with Naan bread. And more often or not, there’s a mild butter chicken somewhere in the stack of curries.

Perzen wants our understanding of Indian cooking to move past takeaway foods, and make it about the rich flavours, aromas and tastes that she experiences every day as an Indian living in New Zealand. Much of her marketing is based around the education of what sort of food she eats, and how she makes it possible to cook it all while running Dolly Mumma, working full time in another position and raising a young family. 

In pursuit of helping Kiwis become informed, Perzen’s now a food writer for The Spinoff, sharing the stories of her own learnings around food, and how she had to learn to cook after she got married, trying to impress her mother-in-law in India

I’m lucky enough to work with Perzen as part of my content coaching programme, and I am often floored at the amount of hard work, dedication and focus she puts into her passions. If anyone can turn New Zealand into a country where Butter Chicken and Naan takes a back seat to homemade curry with a Roti, it’s Perzen

Enjoy this episode learning about how Perzen’s marketing her small business and what she has planned for it. 

 

In this episode we cover:

• Why Perzen started Dolly Mumma
• What Perzen had to learn about Indian food
• Why she’s on a mission to educate as she sells her products
• How she’s using her writing to grow her business
• How she juggles everything including marketing
• What’s next for Dolly Mumma. 

Important Links

Check out her curry pastes here

Read Perzen’s columns on the Spinoff

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download the free workbook

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the quest to assure people I was never going to “make them dance and point” on Tiktok and Instagram as a marketing coach I did something terrible. 

I made it sound like there was something wrong with doing exactly that. And of course there isn’t! In fact some of my biggest reels have involved me dancing and pointing at words that appear on a screen.

What I should of said, and what I say now is that you never HAVE to to that. But if it’s your style, then let me show you how to do it in a way that brings you your ideal customers.

The truth is that there is no one way to attract your ideal clients, and you need to know what style you best fit. As a content marketing coach, my job is to help you find your style, and then grow into it.

You might never point and dance in a video, use a meme, or share a witty quote. Alternatively you may never talk straight to camera, may a how to video or talk politics on the internet.

As business owners we don’t need to consider ourselves a full time content creator, but we do need to work out the type of content creator style that best fits us, and best fits our business.

And we need to stop judging other people with a different style, or telling people there is only one way to get it done. In my content marketing programme we have every type of content creator working on building their small business, and I refuse to make them fit into a technique that doens’t fit them best.

In this episode I’m going to walk through how to show up authentically in your way, cover the five main types of content creator types you can be as a small business owner, and what sort of content you would be more likely to make. 

Here’s to liberating ourselves from the shoulds of content creation and find out where you best sit instead

 

In this episode we cover:

• Why we should stop judging and start choosing
• Why our face matters and your out if you refuse to show it
• What’s right for me might not be right for you
• What happens when we don’t work out our creator style
• The different types of content we can create
• The five main types of content creators
• How to get inspiration for your content

Important Links

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download OUR free Face of your Business checklist

Download the free workbook

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

Become a part of our Facebook group

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make decisions in your business? Do you tap into your intuition, listening for how you believe you should move, and being guided by that to make the big decisions in your business, and the rest of your life?

Bex Lipp co-founded Wildling Books from a strong intuitive push. She and her business partner Craig both (and their respective partners) all had specific skills that, combined together, made the perfect mix for an independent publishing company. 

Designed to publish books conceived, written, illustrated and designed internally, Wildling Books first book Aroha’s Way became a huge hit for parents and teachers wanting to help children understand how to better manage anxiety.

Since then the team have created a range of other books, including a series that covers more of the tools that our children need to develop resilience, and mental well being. They sell their books both directly, and also through major retailers across New Zealand and Australia

Bex’s intuition has lead to a new book, called Intuition, targeted this time to adults. 

Today we talk to Bex about why intuition is such an integral part of how she lives her life, and runs her business, why she’s now ok to tell people she’s “woo woo” and what she’s hoping for next for Wilding Books. 

In this episode we cover:

• How Wildling Books started
• Why the publishing company’s team works so well together
• How Bex has drawn o n her past experiences
• How Bex has dug deeper into her intuition to run her business
• Why she’s launched a new Imprint for their next book
• Bex’s advice for people needing to tap into their intuition more. 

Important Links

Order the new book INTUITION here

Find out more about Wildling books

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download the free workbook

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to find your ideal niche as a service provider  

We are a dime-a-dozen us service providers. Sometimes it can feel like every person and their dog is a coach, consultant, or trainer. So how do we stick out enough to help the right people find us?

This is an essential question to solve. And I haven’t always got it right myself! It’s harder to narrow down who you are talking to and what you’ll help them with because it’s scary. What if you get it wrong? What happens if someone who is not your ideal customer chooses you? Do you need to reset your niche when that happens?

In this episode we walk through why it’s important to explore your own background, and what makes you "you" to help define your niche. We’ll then take a look at the three main types of service providers we can be, so you can work out which one you are.

And then we’ll look at the four main areas you need to consider when finding out your point of difference, and then how to use that information to refine your message

If you’re working this out for the first time, or like me, doing your annual check-in to make sure you are focussing on the best niche for you right now, this is a podcast episode you can’t afford to miss. 

(This was originally a Linkedin Live - and so there may be references to comments made by some of the people watching during this episode. )

In this episode we cover:

• Why we need to define our niche
• What we need to be aware of before we begin
• The three key types of service providers
• Why we don’t want to only ever talk to our ideal client
• The four main areas we need to explore to develop our niche
• The four checks we need to remind our message
• The three parts of a niche statement
• What to use our now defined niche for (and what NOT to use it for)

Important Links

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download OUR free DIY Marketing Audit checklist

Download the free workbook

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

Become a part of our Facebook group

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s many things I love about our topic today, and today’s guest. Bayley Hughes started Brain Play because she could see that there was a gap between what teachers felt confident teaching, when it came to STEM related topics such as robotics, and programming for young learners, and what children wanted to learn. 

So she started to run afterschool programmes in several schools, with tutors who were university students, and closer in age to the children coming, to make them more relatable. Brain Play has now grown to a web of schools across Auckland and now offers holiday programmes, in school programmes and support to staff wanting someone to help simplify the STEM skills our children need exposure to ready themselves for a world different to the one I grew up in

Now in her late twenties, Bayley is starting to reshape and explore how her business might evolve as she’s grown and evolved. 

It’s a real reminder that our business offerings, goals and message doesn’t need to stay stagnant, and that our business is can evolve as we do, fitting in with our life as it changes, rather than us trying to squeeze a business that no longer quite fits us, into a life we’ve in.

This podcast is about the business Bayley grew, and the marketing she did to get it there, with a hat tip to the business Bayley might want to grow in the future, and how to work that all out. 

 

In this episode we cover:

• How Brain Play started
• Why it’s an important business in NZ
• How Bayley finds new customers
• What Bayley’s learned through marketing through schools
• The advantages and disadvantages of having a young team
•  What’s shaping Brain Play’s future right now

Important Links

Find out more about Brainplay

Buy your copy of Be a Spider, Build a Web

Download the free workbook

Become a part of the MAP IT Marketing facebook group

Register interest for Rachel’s content coaching programme

Rachel’s YouTube Channel

Join the My MAP IT Marketing Strategy School

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.