Scale Your Small Business

Thanks for joining us on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom! Today, we're going to break down the steps and key moments you'll encounter when you update your business' website. It can seem like an overwhelming project, but it's possible to calm the chaos.

One of the most important things to remember when you're building your website is this: your website isn't about you, it's about the problem you solve. People are purchasing things from us because they have a problem and need to purchase the solution. By making that crystal clear for people, it makes so much easier that decision-making process and leads to people buying more. If your competitor has a much clearer, easy-to-use website, people will automatically go there first. Make sure your website's images build trust with your potential clients. It's okay to use stock images, but you should have photos of yourself if possible.

Websites are living, breathing things. It's not a set it and forget it—you will always be updating it. Change happens all the time, and you want to keep up with it to make sure your clients are getting the best experience possible. Showing people how easy it is to work with you starts with your website.

Make sure that your top navigation bar is easy to understand and that things are grouped together the way they should be. Making sure that your customers can communicate with you easily is a huge step in the right direction. If someone has a question, it should be simple to start a chat. As far as pop-ups go, if they're annoying to you, then don't use them. Be intentional about how and when they are used.

Another big item you can add to your website is testimonials. Now keep in mind that yes, you are selling something. So you want to provide people's feedback of how they felt after they purchase your product, and what that product did for them. What problem did it solve? These testimonials will allow you to paint a picture for the viewer of your website and your potential client of what they can expect.

Make sure you have a mock-up of your website and get feedback before you go live. Feedback from strangers is best because they'll give you the most objective perspective on what you have to offer. It can be easy to overcomplicate a website! Take feedback to heart and make changes.

Key Takeaways

Your website isn't about you, it's about the problem you solve.

Websites are living, breathing things. It's not a set it and forget it—you will always be updating it.

Testimonials will allow you to paint a picture for the viewer of your website and your potential client of what they can expect.

Welcome to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Today's guest is Gina Mote. She has started many successful businesses, most recently a virtual, at-home DIY woodworking and painting workshop called Little August Ranch. She's with us today to talk about her experiences as an entrepreneur and share her best tips for growing a small business.

Gina's inspiration for Little August Ranch came from the intersection of her love for crafts and scrapbooking, her favorite month, and her and her family's move from chilly Idaho to a small desert ranch in Arizona. Her passion naturally scaled into a successful business by sharing her work on social media. From there, it was craft shows and scaling.

A primary challenge Gina faced when scaling her business was physically hauling the materials to craft shows. To combat this, Gina pivoted to online selling through Etsy and her personal website, which comes with its own set of challenges. However, this allowed them to introduce a monthly subscription box, which streamlined much of their sales through the website.

Etsy originally served the purpose of running credit cards for Gina's business, but after building her own website, she realized Etsy had many other perks that are incredibly useful for what she was doing. Etsy has already done the work of building an audience to come to your page, something you'd have to do yourself with a personal website. Because she has a robust understanding of SEO, she was able to catapult her sales. From Etsy, you can build your own website once your customer base starts to form. Building a Shopify website allows for Facebook integration, further driving leads to your product.

Now that her business is streamlined and scaled, the biggest challenge is time. She overcomes this hurdle through delegation and finding what it is she is best at, and offloading the rest. She considered what it is she wanted to spend her day doing and hired out the rest.

Gina uses skills from completely different businesses in her current work. She noticed that the world was shifting online, so she built processes around that to set herself up in the future. Plus, throughout her time scaling other jobs, she was taking training and building up her know-how. She recommends building pieces and seeking out coaches as you go.

For those who are struggling to find their creative outlet, Gina recommends listening to what people are saying, checking out Pinterest, and finding what speaks to you, what you think you could do, and what you'd enjoy creating. All it takes is the desire to create.

Key Takeaways

Moving online is a great way to scale and streamline your business.

Etsy has already done the work of building an audience to come to your page, something you'd have to do yourself with a personal website.

Find skills that will be applicable to other jobs to ease transition paralysis.

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom! Today, we're tackling overwhelm. It's something we all are challenged with, but for some reason struggle to talk about. We're going to talk about some strategies that can help you get out of that cycle quickly.

Sometimes, procrastination is both a product and a cause of and for overwhelm. Just as often, the source of the overwhelm is a task that is smaller than we think but has been left to fester and grow into something that encompasses us.

A good place to start is getting focused on priorities. It's important to know what you need to get done first. Start with what makes you money, or what has a firm date deadline. A lot of overwhelm stems from way too much to do.

Depending on what your procrastination destination is, you may be getting sucked in to hide from a task. No matter what the action is, you've got to get around it. Try making a list of every single thing you're overwhelmed by. Getting things out of your head and onto paper can make it much easier to attack.

If you're avoiding your overflowing email, start with organizing your inboxes. When things are laid out for you, it can become more manageable.

Create a workspace free of clutter. Turn off all your devices, and let yourself focus.

Finally, break larger tasks down into smaller, more digestible ones. Write them down on sticky notes and keep track of the to-do, in-progress, and completed sections of your Kanban board (check out our other episode on them!).

Key Takeaways

Sometimes, the source of the overwhelm is a task that is smaller than we think but has been left to fester and grow into something that encompasses us.

Try making a list of every single thing you're overwhelmed by. Getting things out of your head and onto paper can make it much easier to attack.

Finally, break larger tasks down into smaller, more digestible ones.

Thanks for joining us on today's episode of the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with Jillian Flodstrom. Joining us today is Marilyn Barker, she is a motivational speaker and educator both online and offline through her seminars and upcoming book. Coming from a place of personal hardship and growth, she understands that life can be overwhelming. She's able to offer advice and guidance from a uniquely personal space.

Marilyn has struggled with depression and anxiety as far back as she can remember. Especially when she started her own business, there were a lot of trial and error, failures, and difficult challenges. But she came out the other side with an understanding that she can now offer to the people she works with, offering tools to overcome that and take the next step.

Vision boards are a huge part of Marilyn's process, and is something she works with her clients on. A vision board is a visual representation of your goals, your dreams, and your visions of where you want to see your life and your business. It's a visual 'to-do' list, but unlike a 'list' it is a reminder and motivator of and towards your goals.

Your aspirations may change, so it's worth making a vision board or updating your current one every quarter, Marilyn suggests. These boards are meant to grow with your business and benefit your life and your family.

Vision boards work–the proof is in the results. Many people Marilyn works with say the benefits are twofold–they are either motivated by what they see to where they accomplish their goal, or they realize that goal wasn't important. It helps prioritize your business while keeping you focused on what matters.

It can look however you want, but it's meant to be nice to look at. It can be hands-on or digital (or both!). All you need is a small posterboard (it doesn't have to be giant at first), glue, scissors, and Google or a magazine. From there, you can digitize it with a photo and carry it with you on your phone anywhere you go. You want to be able to archive these boards to record the progress you've made, develop new goals, and continue achieving.

What you're focused on is what will motivate you–what makes you think of that goal and keeps it at the forefront of your thoughts. Go beyond that and consider the action steps it will take to get to that goal, and include images that remind you of those too.

Use your planner in conjunction with your vision board. Physically block out times of your day where you're focused on those action steps. That way your mind is freed from the constant "when will I do this" feeling and dedicates uninterrupted time where you can work towards your goal.

Key Takeaways

A vision board is a visual representation of your goals, your dreams, and your visions of where you want to see your life and your business. It's a visual 'to-do' list, but unlike a 'list' it is a reminder and motivator of and towards your goals.

Focus on what will motivate you–what makes you think of that goal and keeps it at the forefront of your thoughts.

Your aspirations may change, so it's worth making a vision board or updating your current one every quarter.

Links

https://www.marilynbarker.com/

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom! Today, we're going to spend some time talking about how to most effectively share something that you're excited about. We'll dive into how to let people in on a process, a system, or whatever else that you're passionate about and the steps you can take to do so.

One of the most important things you can do, especially when you're excited about sharing a new project with others, is to explain the intent behind the new implementation. When you're passionate about something new, it's easy to forget the 'why.' But, it's crucial that everyone understands how the new system will work with what they're doing.

Implement new systems the same way you would start a new habit–adding it to an existing thing that you and your team do. Habit stacking makes new implementations feel less invasive and easier to swallow.

It goes without saying, but when you're implementing a new system, share it with others! We often keep our goals under wraps, but sharing them can help with accountability and will let you look back at your goals with your team and supporters once you've hit them.

Things don't have to be complicated. Whatever makes it easier for you is how you want to go. Nothing is going to be perfect all the time–it's important to give yourself grace and allow mistakes to happen along the way. Whatever you're doing, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. We are changing our lives one small step at a time.

Key Takeaways

One of the most important things you can do, especially when you're excited about sharing a new project with others, is to explain the intent behind the new implementation.

Habit stacking makes new implementations feel less invasive and easier to swallow.

Nothing is going to be perfect all the time–it's important to give yourself grace and allow mistakes to happen along the way.

On the show today, we have an intuitive, empowering, and creative women's business strategist, Danikah Rose. She works on mindset and rewiring limiting beliefs and has a huge passion for authentic marketing and staying true to core values in the public eye. She teaches courses on attitude, gratitude, self-awareness, self-care, and goal setting, along with authentic marketing. She wants all women to know that everything they desire is readily available when they're operating in their truth and their inner wisdom. 

The best way people can boost their confidence right away, Danikah shares, starts with practice. It’s not something that’s automatic–it takes intentional cultivation from a place of truth to build it. Things like affirmations are crucial to changing the way you think about yourself. You can become your own hype-man. If that isn’t your game, find a coach that can help you. You can build a hype-squad around you to keep that momentum going. 

When you’re building that squad around you or looking for a coach to work with, you want them to look like what you want your future self to be–someone you can admire. They’ve got to match your vibe. Be with someone who is already looking to work with you. Really read into it and take your time, it’s worth being intentional. There’s no rush in making decisions–talk to at least five people and find someone who is going to pour as much into your business as you do. 

Comparing ourselves to others can hinder personal and professional progress. A key to breaking that habit (or any habit) is to replace it with something else. It’s not about resistance, because that causes discomfort and isn’t sustainable. Instead of pushing outside your comfort-zone, move your comfort-zone forward with you. 

Having the right mindset is the foundation of a successful business. You can stay making decisions based on what’s not going right, or you can make a choice to move forward and think ahead to how you can overcome your challenges. It's not about anyone else. Business is very individual. It's about you and what you're trying to cultivate. 

If you know you need to make a change, Danikah recommends starting with getting support. Don't feel ashamed or worried because you haven’t hit certain milestones yet. You’re learning and may not yet have the tools you need. From there, it’s about asking the right questions. What can I do about it? What is the solution? What can I talk about that will serve my customer? The trick with finding support is to flip those questions around. What challenges do you face? What’s the solution? It's about implementing people who know more than you. Not everyone knows everything–everyone has their own zone of expertise. But it’s important to have the support around what you’re creating. 

Don’t be afraid to go back to basics. Backspace as much as you need to and reinvent what you do. Accept that something isn’t going to be working the same way they were when you first started. People will believe in you, but you have to put in the work to get there. 

Danikah’s last piece of advice is to tune in because there is a lot of noise that can distract you from being your authentic self. 

Visit Danikah’s Instagram Bio links to check out her upcoming Mastermind!

Key Takeaways

Confidence is not something that it's just automatic

When you’re building that squad around you or looking for a coach to work with, you want them to look like what you want your future self to be–someone you can admire. 

Don’t be afraid to go back to basics. Backspace as much as you need to and reinvent what you do. 

LINKS

www.Instagram.com/danikahrosecreative

Thanks for joining us on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom! Today, we’re going to break down the steps and key moments you’ll encounter when you update your business’ website. It can seem like an overwhelming project, but it’s possible to calm the chaos. 

One of the most important things to remember when you’re building your website is this: your website isn’t about you, it’s about the problem you solve. People are purchasing things from us because they have a problem and need to purchase the solution. By making that crystal clear for people, it makes so much easier that decision-making process and leads to people buying more. If your competitor has a much clearer, easy-to-use website, people will automatically go there first. Make sure your website’s images build trust with your potential clients. It’s okay to use stock images, but you should have photos of yourself if possible. 

Websites are living, breathing things. It's not a set it and forget it—you will always be updating it. Change happens all the time, and you want to keep up with it to make sure your clients are getting the best experience possible. Showing people how easy it is to work with you starts with your website. 

Make sure that your top navigation bar is easy to understand and that things are grouped together the way they should be. Making sure that your customers can communicate with you easily is a huge step in the right direction. If someone has a question, it should be simple to start a chat. As far as pop-ups go, if they’re annoying to you, then don’t use them. Be intentional about how and when they are used. 

Another big item you can add to your website is testimonials. Now keep in mind that yes, you are selling something. So you want to provide people's feedback of how they felt after they purchase your product, and what that product did for them. What problem did it solve? These testimonials will allow you to paint a picture for the viewer of your website and your potential client of what they can expect. 

Make sure you have a mock-up of your website and get feedback before you go live. Feedback from strangers is best because they’ll give you the most objective perspective on what you have to offer. It can be easy to overcomplicate a website! Take feedback to heart and make changes. 

Key Takeaways

Your website isn’t about you, it’s about the problem you solve.

Websites are living, breathing things. It's not a set it and forget it—you will always be updating it. 

Testimonials will allow you to paint a picture for the viewer of your website and your potential client of what they can expect.

Welcome to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Today’s guest is Gina Mote. She has started many successful businesses, most recently a virtual, at-home DIY woodworking and painting workshop called Little August Ranch. She's with us today to talk about her experiences as an entrepreneur and share her best tips for growing a small business. 

Gina’s inspiration for Little August Ranch came from the intersection of her love for crafts and scrapbooking, her favorite month, and her and her family’s move from chilly Idaho to a small desert ranch in Arizona. Her passion naturally scaled into a successful business by sharing her work on social media. From there, it was craft shows and scaling. 

A primary challenge Gina faced when scaling her business was physically hauling the materials to craft shows. To combat this, Gina pivoted to online selling through Etsy and her personal website, which comes with its own set of challenges. However, this allowed them to introduce a monthly subscription box, which streamlined much of their sales through the website.  

Etsy originally served the purpose of running credit cards for Gina’s business, but after building her own website, she realized Etsy had many other perks that are incredibly useful for what she was doing. Etsy has already done the work of building an audience to come to your page, something you’d have to do yourself with a personal website. Because she has a robust understanding of SEO, she was able to catapult her sales. From Etsy, you can build your own website once your customer base starts to form. Building a Shopify website allows for Facebook integration, further driving leads to your product. 

Now that her business is streamlined and scaled, the biggest challenge is time. She overcomes this hurdle through delegation and finding what it is she is best at, and offloading the rest. She considered what it is she wanted to spend her day doing and hired out the rest. 

Gina uses skills from completely different businesses in her current work. She noticed that the world was shifting online, so she built processes around that to set herself up in the future. Plus, throughout her time scaling other jobs, she was taking training and building up her know-how. She recommends building pieces and seeking out coaches as you go. 

For those who are struggling to find their creative outlet, Gina recommends listening to what people are saying, checking out Pinterest, and finding what speaks to you, what you think you could do, and what you’d enjoy creating. All it takes is the desire to create. 

Key Takeaways

Moving online is a great way to scale and streamline your business.

Etsy has already done the work of building an audience to come to your page, something you’d have to do yourself with a personal website.

Find skills that will be applicable to other jobs to ease transition paralysis.

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom! Today, we’re going to spend some time talking about how to most effectively share something that you’re excited about. We’ll dive into how to let people in on a process, a system, or whatever else that you’re passionate about and the steps you can take to do so.

One of the most important things you can do, especially when you’re excited about sharing a new project with others, is to explain the intent behind the new implementation. When you’re passionate about something new, it’s easy to forget the ‘why.’ But, it’s crucial that everyone understands how the new system will work with what they’re doing.

Implement new systems the same way you would start a new habit–adding it to an existing thing that you and your team do. Habit stacking makes new implementations feel less invasive and easier to swallow. 

It goes without saying, but when you’re implementing a new system, share it with others! We often keep our goals under wraps, but sharing them can help with accountability and will let you look back at your goals with your team and supporters once you’ve hit them. 

Things don't have to be complicated. Whatever makes it easier for you is how you want to go. Nothing is going to be perfect all the time–it’s important to give yourself grace and allow mistakes to happen along the way. Whatever you're doing, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. We are changing our lives one small step at a time. 

Key Takeaways

One of the most important things you can do, especially when you’re excited about sharing a new project with others, is to explain the intent behind the new implementation.

Habit stacking makes new implementations feel less invasive and easier to swallow. 

Nothing is going to be perfect all the time–it’s important to give yourself grace and allow mistakes to happen along the way. 

Thanks for joining us on today’s episode of the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with Jillian Flodstrom. Joining us today is Marilyn Barker, she is a motivational speaker and educator both online and offline through her seminars and upcoming book. Coming from a place of personal hardship and growth, she understands that life can be overwhelming. She's able to offer advice and guidance from a uniquely personal space.

Marilyn has struggled with depression and anxiety as far back as she can remember. Especially when she started her own business, there were a lot of trial and error, failures, and difficult challenges. But she came out the other side with an understanding that she can now offer to the people she works with, offering tools to overcome that and take the next step. 

Vision boards are a huge part of Marilyn’s process, and is something she works with her clients on. A vision board is a visual representation of your goals, your dreams, and your visions of where you want to see your life and your business. It’s a visual ‘to-do’ list, but unlike a ‘list’ it is a reminder and motivator of and towards your goals. 

Your aspirations may change, so it’s worth making a vision board or updating your current one every quarter, Marilyn suggests. These boards are meant to grow with your business and benefit your life and your family. 

Vision boards work–the proof is in the results. Many people Marilyn works with say the benefits are twofold–they are either motivated by what they see to where they accomplish their goal, or they realize that goal wasn’t important. It helps prioritize your business while keeping you focused on what matters.

It can look however you want, but it’s meant to be nice to look at. It can be hands-on or digital (or both!). All you need is a small posterboard (it doesn’t have to be giant at first), glue, scissors, and Google or a magazine. From there, you can digitize it with a photo and carry it with you on your phone anywhere you go. You want to be able to archive these boards to record the progress you’ve made, develop new goals, and continue achieving. 

What you’re focused on is what will motivate you–what makes you think of that goal and keeps it at the forefront of your thoughts. Go beyond that and consider the action steps it will take to get to that goal, and include images that remind you of those too. 

Use your planner in conjunction with your vision board. Physically block out times of your day where you’re focused on those action steps. That way your mind is freed from the constant “when will I do this” feeling and dedicates uninterrupted time where you can work towards your goal.