As busy business owners we all wear way too many hats.  

But some of the hats we wear … and the tasks associated with them, can be painfully boring and repetitive.  

One of the most useful tools I’ve come across for automating some of those tasks is Zapier (rhymes with “happier” apparently).  But it’s not always obvious where to start.

So I asked tech expert and Zapier aficionado, MV Braverman from Your Tech Maven to share some of her favourite ways of using Zapier to turn “boring” into “already done”.

Listen in and take away some great ideas that will help take some of the load off.

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Website:  https://yourtechmaven.com/ 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvbraverman/ 

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How long has it been since you’ve bought (or tried to buy) something for the first time?  What was the experience like for you as a newcomer to that supplier?

And what about your own business?  Have you recently put on some “new customer” glasses and really looked at what it’s like for newcomers to buy something from you?

In this short episode I share two recent events where my experience as a new buyer has made me think “they could have done this so much better and here’s how” ….If you would like to receive tips and advice about doing online business better, sign up for my regular updates at https://onlinebusinessliftoff.com/newsletter/ 

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I had just begun running a big program that helped carers/caregivers learn how to start their own business.  It was exciting, it was fun, it was … chaotic.

We were essentially in startup mode ourselves, trying to get everything running smoothly for our participants.  And I was bringing on team members to help.  But they were finding it difficult because all our processes and systems were … to put it politely … fluid.

Every day, we were losing time because we couldn’t find this document or that plan.  And with a program of that size (or any size), time is money.

So I reached out to streamlining guru, Ee Zen Cha from REAVA Solutions for some help. 

She was able to make a massive difference.  So much so that I’m still using many of the procedures and processes she put in place.

The work she did was so helpful that I asked her to come onto the show and share some of her tips for getting started with streamlining what you do, so that you can get some time back in your day for the things that matter to you.

There are some great tips here.  Enjoy!

RESOURCES:

Website:  https://REAVASolutions.com.au  

Streamlining Mini Course:  https://www.reavasolutions.com.au/training/how-to-get-back-more-time-by-streamlining-your-business-mini-course/

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Jeremy Cline has been a lawyer for more years than he likes to think about.  And truth be told, he wasn’t really enjoying it that much. He had been searching for something different to do.  Something that was … well, he wasn’t exactly sure just what sort of business would be right for him. 

So he had a couple of cracks at it.  The first business did okay, but wasn’t satisfying.  The second business was a much better fit.

In this podcast episode, Jeremy shares his journey of finding that right fit.  And how getting a coach helped him uncover the secret to starting a business that felt right.

If you’re in the middle of making your own leap from corporate to small business owner, or if you’re thinking about making the leap, have a listen.  Jeremy shares some really good advice for picking the right business the first time.

If you’d like to have access to more tips and great advice about making the leap from corporate employee to business owner I invite you to join my email list. 

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Website:  https://changeworklife.com Free Download:  https://changeworklife.com/happy 

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If you love writing … and you’ve been wanting to make money from your carefully crafted words, check out this interview with Michaɫ Stawicki.

Michaɫ used to work in IT and was desperately wondering how he was going to ever be able to make enough money to allow him to support his family and some day, retire.

So he started looking around for ideas and eventually decided to start writing.

It’s taken years of practice and a lot of hard work, but in this podcast, Michaɫ shares how he was eventually able to leave his corporate job and support himself and his family just with his writing.  

He has published 19 books and sold 85.000 copies of them.  He literally has thousands of articles all over the Internet and if you check out his website, there are a lot of links to his writing.

And now he has added in another writing-related business that builds on all that hard won experience.

Have a listen to the podcast and hear how he did it, warts and all.

And if you'd like to get regular notifications of when new podcasts episodes are available you can sign up at 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Websites

https://resurrectingbooks.com/

https://expandbeyondyourself.com/media

Twitter URL

https://twitter.com/StawickiMichal

Linkedin URL

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stawicki-michal/

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Have you ever felt like a failure?  Especially as a small business owner?

You look around and it seems like everyone else is so much more successful than you are.  And it feels like everything you try just isn’t doing that well?

Know that you’re not alone.  

As small business owners trying to wear all the hats, learn a ton of new skills and still make a living, we all struggle to hit our success goals, especially at the beginning.

And that can feel both embarrassing and overwhelming.

In today’s podcast episode, host Trudy Rankin shares the 5 secrets she’s learned for dealing with those feelings of embarrassment, shame and overwhelm.

And if you’d like to access more tips and expert advice about successfully building your small business, you’re welcome to sign up here at https://onlinebusinessliftoff.com/newsletter/  

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Book (affiliate link):  Outliers:  The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell

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Each individual piece of software you buy for your business probably doesn’t cost that much.  But when you add them all up together they can take a big whack out of your budget every month.

If you feel like your software costs are starting to eat your lunch, it might be time to do something about it.

In this podcast episode, host Trudy Rankin, shares her proven 3-step system for keeping software costs under control.

And if you’d like to get a head start on the process, download her Software Register Template here at https://onlinebusinessliftoff.com/software-register 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How often do you take time to leave your normal routine behind and do something completely different?

Or decide on the spur of the moment to take up an opportunity you know is likely to never come again?

Normally, we’d most likely say “I don’t have time for that.”

In this short episode, podcast host, Trudy Rankin, shares her experience of doing something out of the ordinary and the unexpected benefits of just saying “yes”.

You’re invited to listen in and enjoy the story.

And if you enjoy hearing about all things online business, you’re invited to sign up for Trudy’s emails where she talks about the experiments and projects she’s working on and what she’s learned from the process.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a child, host Trudy Rankin struggled to translate what was in her imagination into visual art.  Stick figures were about as good as it got.

Fast forward to today and she still has the same problem.  When faced with having to create visual images that reflect and amplify her spoken or written content, she still goes completely blank.

So when Trudy had a chance to play with some AI tools, she had a crack at filling the gap between her imagination and what she could create onscreen.

Did it work?

Have a listen and find out what actually happened.

And if you find it interesting, you’re invited to sign up for her emails where she talks about her experiments with all things online business (including using tools like AI to solve challenges).

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2 

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Have you ever been through an experience that made you hesitant to speak out?  Especially on social media?

As content creator and repurposing expert, Franciska Sore shares the story of building her business, she talks about how a scary stalking experience made her afraid to make her “voice” heard for the longest time, and what she finally did about reclaiming her voice.

We also talked about:

• Her biggest challenge in her work
• ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and the impact and opportunities it could likely have on businesses like ours
• Why we still need copywriters and high quality content
• The importance of storyline in creating impactful repurposed content
• The art of wearing many hats when running a business
• Her one key piece of advice for people just getting started

One of the key takeaways from this episode is that if you want to stand out, you can’t copy other people.

We invite you to have a listen.  There are plenty of other gold nuggets in this episode.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

Website:  https://franciskasore.com/ 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/franciskasore/ 

Instagram:  franciskasore

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.