No BS Mastery Podcast

Every year, I do at least one, if not two, full days of strategizing and planning with Steve.

And it’s not just imagining what we want for ourselves in the coming year in terms of our business, but it’s about strategizing every aspect of our lives.

We’ve been doing this for years and it’s an amazing opportunity to take a step back, take a deep breath and look at everything we’ve accomplished over the last twelve months and really intentionally think about what we’re going to do for the next year.

We talk about our personal goals, our relationship goals, our family goals, goals for what we want to do with our friends, and of course, our business goals.

Last year, when I was doing my strategy work and intentions for the following year, and I thought about what I really wanted to accomplish, I realized I really wanted to help people on a much grander scale.

I realized that this business model is really powerful and I wanted to help other people implement it.

So for the past year, I have been building the no BS Agency Mastery Program, which is a group program where I teach other small branding agencies how to build a much more profitable, flexible, sustainable business.

And next year is where I'm really going to be able to take it to new heights and places that I want to go.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why I went all-in on a brand new business in 2021
• Why depth and focus are the key to big impacts for mission-driven business owners
• Big changes coming to the podcast in 2022

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Last episode, I told the story of how Steve and I started Worst of All Design and how it evolved into the No BS Agency model.

Today, I want to share one more reason why that model is so valuable.

When you’re running an agency, the hustle is constant. Constantly trying to fill your pipeline, constantly pitching, constantly chasing and closing clients, then all the work for those clients you landed. Plus communications, various fires that always need putting out, meetings…

People build these agencies because they love creative work and because they want to help clients, but they build it in a model that inherently makes work-life balance almost impossible. 

The truth is the agency life is hard. Which is one reason why Steve and I had to create another way forward.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How the intensives model gives us the freedom and flexibility we always wanted
• How we use chunk and stack to manage our schedule
• How intensives eliminate client anxiety and give you back your personal life
• How intensives let you make upfront investments in time, money and audience for building passive income products

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

A couple of months ago, I started running Facebook ads again. And with Facebook ads, come all kinds of comments and Facebook trolls.

Pissy comments don't upset me. But they show me what triggers some people and why! They have been a wonderful breeding ground for ideas about what I want to share with you here on the podcast.

So today, I want to take you back to how this all started—the challenges and opportunities that Steve and I experienced that led us to change our business model so drastically.

And I'm going to address some of the biggest misunderstandings that small business owners I come into contact with have when it comes to what I preach.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How we got to our first $10k month, and what it cost physically and mentally to get there
• The impact that being stuck in "fear place" had on me and how I got out of it
• Why we changed our business model and turned the way we do business on its head
• What's different about our business model compared to typical branding agencies and why it matters to you whether or not you run a branding agency
• How intensives deliver tons of value with less friction

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

We make assumptions all day long. And those assumptions dictate how we respond to people and situations around us.

Whether it’s assuming the tone in your boss’s email, or not following up because you didn’t get a response the first time, or a client who says yes but then disappears, the assumptions we make about the people around us have major impacts on our business.

But what if instead of assuming that your boss is being curt, or the person you reached out to doesn’t want to talk to you, or the client who disappeared changed their mind, you stopped to notice your assumptions?

We can spend so much energy on these stories we tell ourselves about other people, especially when they’re negative.

And that hurts your business.

Today I’m chatting with a friend and mentor about her new book Go Big Now: 8 Essential Mindset Practices to Overcome Any Obstacle and Reach Your Goals, and how even small shifts in your mindset can have big impacts in your business and your life.

Julia Pimsleur is a scaling coach, mindset expert, speaker and best-selling author. She is founder of Million Dollar Women, a New York City-based online membership community helping one million women get to $1M in revenues. Million Dollar Women recently celebrated its five year anniversary and has helped thousands of women entrepreneurs scale up their businesses. 

Tune into this episode to hear:

• The three things you need to go big, and why mindset is the hardest one
• How Julia went from considering shuttering her first business to building into a multi-million dollar company and becoming a coach
• Julia’s simple tips for slowing down and noticing your thoughts and assumptions so you can change your mindset and level up your business
• Why mindset is an ongoing practice, and the things that still trip us up

Learn more about Julia:

• Million Dollar Women
• Instagram: @milliondlrwomen
• Facebook: @JPimsleur
• Connect with Million Dollar Women on LinkedIn
• Go Big Now: 8 Essential Mindset Practices to Overcome Any Obstacle and Reach Your Goals
• 21 Day Go Big Mindset Course: Use code GOBIG50 for 50% off!

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Resources:

• 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - A True Story, Dan Harris
• Gina Mollicone-Long

What’s holding you back from putting yourself out there, whether in articles, on social media, in videos, or just sending emails to your list?

If you’re waiting to be good enough, spoiler alert: you’re never going to be good enough until you start doing it. 

Yes, you'll probably feel embarrassed by your earlier efforts and outputs. I feel the same way! But this is an unavoidable part of the journey on the way to mastery and finding that thing that makes us unique.

To chat about developing your unique voice and putting yourself out there online, among other things, I’m talking to Hillary Weiss.

Hillary Weiss is a creative director, positioning coach, and founder of Statement Piece Studio. She’s also the co-host of the cult-favorite Youtube marketing talk show Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites (#HAMYAW), and has had her work featured on Business Insider, The Next Web, The Observer, and more.

Since 2011, she’s helped thousands of brands all over the world get seen and heard (and make serious cash) through her one on one client work, writing, coaching, and videos. Nowadays, she’s on a mission to help more small businesses define their “statement piece”, a.k.a. the bold point of view that makes them radically relevant to their perfect people.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How Hillary built her copywriting experience into brand and positioning coaching, and why you need a position before you have copy
• How being able to notice and explain your unique process helps you develop mastery and differentiate yourself in the market
• Why content marketing is like insurance for your business
• How to develop visual language that supports your brand

Learn more about Hillary:

• Statement Piece Studio
• Instagram: @hcweiss
• Twitter: @hcweiss
• Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites
• Free Statement Piece Framework

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re in a constant state of not knowing. 

No matter how much you know, there is always more to learn. You can’t know everything, because the landscape is always changing. 

And not knowing isn’t always comfortable. When you’re doing something for the first time, when you’re learning a strategy that runs counter to everything you were taught, you’re bound to get frustrated and uncomfortable.

But if you want to build a business, you have to build resilience in the face of not knowing.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why learning to be acknowledge and sit with discomfort is a key skill for entrepreneurs
• How focusing on process over product helps you meet your goals
• How taking action even when you don’t know it all builds resilience

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

You know you’re great at what you do. You know how to deliver value to your customers. But when it comes to communicating that, you’re struggling.

A lot of people suck at communicating to their customers so that they stand out.

But there is a method that is as old as humanity, and is ten times more effective than just telling customers what you do: Storytelling.

I’m sitting down with Seth Erickson to talk about how to use storytelling to connect with your audience, whether your brand is business or personal, and why your story evolves with your business.

Seth Erickson is the owner of Storify Agency and the author of How to Hack Humans: Storytelling for Startups. He has built a career merging business creativity and wit and he trains startups to use storytelling to communicate their value to investors and to the marketplace. His goal is to reduce the number of startups that fail–90%!–by incorporating storytelling so their presentations and products stand out.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why it’s 10x more effective than just telling customers what you do
• Why personal brands need different stories than business brands
• How your story can and must evolve over time in a changing marketplace

Learn more about Seth: 

• Storify Agency
• How to Hack Humans: Storytelling for Startups
• Read the first chapter of How to Hack Humans for FREE: https://www.storifyagency.com/pia
• Connect with Seth on LinkedIn
• Instagram: @OriginalSethErickson

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Resources:

Winning the Story Wars, Jonah Sachs

Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, Donald Miller

If you absolutely knew you were going to be successful, to have the business and the life you want, what would you pay to get there? What would you be willing to sacrifice?

What failures would you endure, if you knew it was all going to pay off?

I’ve been thinking and talking to a lot of people recently about the idea of whether or not you can guarantee success. 

I interact with a lot of business owners who are so scared of making the wrong decision or the wrong choice or going in the wrong direction that their doubt paralyzes them. They can’t make decisions or take action because they’re plagued with doubt and they end up stuck.

Sound familiar?

I want to give you a different perspective and hopefully change your mindset.

I want to free you up to make decisions and take action. I want to tell you how you can guarantee success in your business. 

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why committing to showing up and doing the work is the guarantee of success
• Why the work has to include honestly assessing where you need to improve your skills and face your fears
• How a community, mentor, coach or other sounding board can help you see where you’re holding yourself back
• Why you need big picture goals and milestones so you don’t get lost in the day-to-day

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com
• When You Bank True Confidence, Anything Is Possible, Pia at TEDx Colorado Springs
• Email Pia

Do you have a clear set of goals for your business each year? Or a systematic way of orienting your business toward your goals each quarter?

I’m a huge fan of annual, quarterly, weekly and daily planning to maximize the time you spend each day on high value tasks that move you toward your goals.

Implementing a business planning strategy means you can make better choices about how to prioritize your time, whether with your own schedule, or figuring out what needs to be delegated to someone on your team.

Which is why I’m talking to badass business owner Jared Kleinert.

Jared is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and consultant with a range of high-profile clients. He was a delegate to President Obama's 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Malaysia, and is the author of multiple books, including the upcoming NETWORKING: How to Meet Influential People, Deepen Relationships, and Become A Super-Connector.

His insights on entrepreneurship and networking have also been featured in major media such as Forbes, TIME, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, NPR, Entrepreneur, Mashable, Fox Business and more.

He’s been in the game for over 15 years and he’s only 26!

Jared shares his story and how he’s managed to do so much at such a young age, how he manages and thinks about his time so he can make all this happen, and his advice on hiring support even when you don’t need or want employees.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How Jared's upbringing helped him embrace entrepreneurship at a young age
• How his early experiences with mentorship and networking shaped his trajectory
• Why consulting or service-based businesses make great launchpads into businesses that scale
• How Jared prioritizes daily, weekly, and quarterly objectives in his schedule with tech tools and strategic processes

Learn more about Jared: 

• Offsite
• Meeting of the Minds
• NETWORKING: How to Meet Influential People, Deepen Relationships, and Become A Super-Connector
• 3 Billion Under 30: How Millennials Continue Redefining Success, Breaking Barriers, and Changing The World: 75 Stories of Entrepreneurship, Change, and Leadership | Business Book for Young Adults 
• 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing the World, with Stacey Ferreira
• Connect with Jared

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

How much risk are you willing to take?

For some, the idea of taking a giant leap of faith is exhilarating. For others, the idea instantly makes them queasy. Where you land on that continuum will change depending on the greater circumstances of your life, too.

Your relationship to risk affects your business and the choices you’ll make. 

When it comes to finding your niche, your comfort with uncertainty and risk will have a major impact in the direction you choose to go. Or the directions you can even imagine going.

All businesses come with some level of risk and uncertainty. So how do you manage your relationship to risk in your business so that you don’t get mired in indecision or leap headfirst into an unproven venture?

To talk about risk, I’m catching up with Philip Morgan.

Philip Morgan is an expert on experts. He works with independent consultants to help them hone their area of specialization, cultivate their expertise, and monetize their IP. His book, The Positioning Manual for Indie Consultants has helped thousands transform their businesses.

We talk about building authority and expertise, how to find your niche and positioning, what it takes to build an expert business and some self-psychoanalysis in the process.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Shifting your mindset to what you’re gaining instead of what you’re losing when you’re trying something new
• The relationship between risk tolerance and how you choose to specialize
• Imposter syndrome and finding or making space in your niche
• Two challenges Philip uses to help clients build comfort with their expertise

Learn more about Philip: 

• Philip Morgan Consulting
• Twitter: @Philip_Morgan
• The Self-Made Expert podcast
• The Positioning Manual for Indie Consultants: Find the Strategic Beachhead that Will Amplify Your Visibility, Momentum, Impact and Profit
• 
  

Learn more about Pia: 

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course 
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Resources:

• The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients, Rich Litvin and Steve Chandler (Author)
• Write Useful Books: A modern approach to designing and refining recommendable nonfiction, Rob Fitzpatrick