No BS Mastery Podcast

Apparently, I have developed something of a reputation for telling it like it is. Students and my friends know that they can expect me to give to them straight.

Sometimes that might come across a little harsh, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think there’s value in giving (and getting) no BS answers. I’ll be honest about what you can expect, what I think you’re doing right, and where I think you need to pivot. And it’s up to you to take that and make your own decisions about how it applies to you and your business.

This month, I’m going to share some of the biggest hard truths that one-to-two person branding agencies need to learn. Once you accept them, it will unburden you from so many challenges and you’ll be able to move forward with more ease.

Today, I’m starting with five hard truths that most business coaches won’t tell you about marketing.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• What every killer offers needs
• The truth about what “free” marketing costs
• The thing you need to have before spending any money on ads
• Why you do not need to chase trends trying to go viral on social media

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

I’m excited to share my conversation with a No BS Mastery star student. Caitlin Lang has been an absolute delight to have in our community and it’s been awesome to watch her take action and transform her business.

Today, she shares her journey from the dot com boom to working as a freelance brand designer, to embracing the No BS way after years of struggling with the default way of running a branding agency.

As the founder of Liquid Form Design and hype woman for other female entrepreneurs, Caitlin Lang crafts captivating brands and websites that give her clients the confidence to blast through their business goals.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why the intensives model was immediately appealing to Caitlin
• The mindset shift that made a major difference in Caitlin’s client relationships
• How committing to a niche has made getting referrals and doing outreach far easier and more fruitful
• How Caitlin is learning to give herself more space and freedom in her schedule
• What surprised Caitlin about the community aspect of joining the No BS program

Learn more about Caitlin Lang:

• Liquid Form Design
• Connect on LinkedIn

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Following up can not only cost you a lot of time in trying to craft a thoughtful email that will hopefully get a response, it can be emotionally draining and frustrating too. Especially when you need or want the work, it feels like there’s a lot on the line.

This month, we’re talking about the default way that things are done in our industry and The No BS Way. 

In this episode, I talk about what the default way gets wrong about trying to get a response from prospective clients and what we do instead.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why a good followup email strips away the BS and gets to the point
• What to send if you still haven’t gotten a response and you need to close the loop

Mentioned: 

• Dean Jackson
• Taki Moore

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

How do you schedule your day? Do you plan your week out? Do you know what you're working on every single day?  Or are you in reactive mode and constantly playing a guessing game for when you’ll hit project milestones?

Been there, done that, and trust me, there is a better way.

This month, we’re talking about the default way that most agencies run their businesses and how the No BS Way can be much more efficient and effective, bringing you the freedom and ease you wanted out of starting your own business.

In this episode, I talk about something that has an immediate impact on how you spend your days: Scheduling.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How intensives simplify your calendar and make scheduling projects a snap
• How scheduling “in chunks” gives you time to build your business and live your life
• Why the default way of juggling multiple projects at once is creatively and practically inefficient

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

A lot of small agency owners learned how to structure and run their businesses from the agencies they’ve worked at in the past.

But what if everyone's doing it in an inefficient, ineffective way? 

That’s the conclusion I came to when we found ourselves deep in debt after following the default way things were done. 

Now after over a decade of doing it the No BS way and teaching that method to hundreds of people, we've developed our own way of doing almost everything, and it's far from the default of proposals and pitch decks.

This month, I’m talking about some common things that we all have to do as agency owners, and the very different way that we do it inside No BS.

In this episode, I talk about the difference between the traditional retainers model and the No BS way of doing retainers.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How traditional retainers give small agency owners a false sense of financial security
• Why retainers are so prone to creating burnout for agency owners
• Three rules for handling retainers the No BS way

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

I am a long-time user and proponent of Squarespace for client projects and we’ve used them exclusively for over a decade.

In this episode, I chat with Jeremy Schwartz, Squarespace’s Director of Channel Partner Business, about what makes Squarespace such a powerful tool for creatives and designers and how it can help you build your business.

Jeremy Schwartz is a business leader and Squarespace veteran who conceived, launched, and now manages their channel partner business. When he's not helping creative professionals build sustainable businesses, Jeremy spends his time practicing hot yoga, coparenting his three kids, and getting the most out of living in Brooklyn.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why there will always be a market for professional creatives on Squarespace
• How Squarespace helps small businesses create streamlined processes for sustainable success
• How the Circle community forums have grown to encompass much more than technical questions

Register for Circle Day 2024:

• Squarespace Circle Day 2024: http://circleday.squarespace.com/nobs

Today, I’m excited to share a conversation with someone who has been on an absolute rocket ship ride inside No BS Agencies Mastery.

Kris Byers has transformed his business and achieved phenomenal results and become a real leader and inspiration in our community.

So I wanted to talk to him about what exactly he did, how his process changed, and how he’s successfully applying the No BS philosophy to even larger clients with big projects.

Kris Byers is the owner and designer of Horrible Brands, where they use design, strategy, and technology to remove all the horrible things that are holding business owners back, helping them achieve their potential and create a legacy of positivity and progress.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• What led Kris to feeling burned out and frustrated
• How he built the confidence to trust his business and his pipeline
• How an efficient process and transparent pricing is allowing Kris to land clients even huge agencies want
• How Kris applies the No BS principles to large jobs with multiple stakeholders
• How Kris rebranded his own business and developed his niche based on personality and mindset

Learn more about Kris Byers:

• Horrible Brands
• Connect on LinkedIn

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

All this month, I’m talking about some of the most common and frequent mistakes I see people make in their one-to-two person branding agencies. 

Today, I want to talk about choosing a niche.

Yes, you need a niche and I love helping businesses find theirs, but it’s not as straightforward as it sounds. Niching is about more than just picking an industry you want to work with.

In this episode, I talk through three big mistakes I see people doing both inside our program and out in the world when it comes to niching.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• What is important to have before you commit to a niche
• How the size of the businesses you work with impacts your projects and why it matters
• How niching early and building your authority helps you go broad later

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

This month, I’m digging into some of the mistakes I see one-to-two person branding agencies make over and over again. And today, I want to talk about pricing. 

Pricing your services is an art and it’s something people struggle with all the time inside the No BS Mastery program and out in the world. It also happens to be one of my favorite things to help people reconsider and fix so that they can build successful, sustainable businesses full of the flexibility and freedom they desire.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why you should never base your pricing on what you think someone can pay–even if they gave you a budget number
• Why looking to the market to set your rates is a lost cause
• Why you need to be flexible on your pricing when you’re starting out and/or need cash and clients

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

When you spend a lot of time working with one market, you start to notice patterns.

I’ve worked with hundreds of one-to-two person branding agencies over the last few years, and I see people make the same mistakes over and over again. No matter how we address it in our curriculum, or how many times I talk about it, there are certain things that people in our industry gravitate towards doing that aren’t doing them any favors.

This month, I want to dig into some of the mistakes I see people make all the time, in our program and out in the world, that I think you should avoid at all costs.

Today, we’re going to talk about three things you absolutely should not do when selling.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why you should never send an email pitch for your services
• How a Fit-Call eliminates being salesy and puts you in control
• Why you shouldn’t talk about services before they’ve answered all of your questions

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com