Serve Scale Soar®

If your Black Friday plan starts on November 1st, you're already behind. And so are your clients.

Every year I watch it happen. Clients wait until November, everything gets rushed, and things aren't done well because nobody planned for it. Or worse, they skip it entirely because they think Black Friday is only for e-commerce. That couldn't be further from the truth.

So I brought on Andy Franco, one of our Strategist Society members, who has been in digital marketing for 23-plus years and has clients who make 30% of their yearly revenue in November. We are total marketing nerds in this one, y'all, and it's one of our longer episodes for a reason.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why you have "11 months to prepare for Black Friday" and what to focus on between now and the promo
• The exact message to send every client this week, and what to ask when they say no
• Why Black Friday is for your warm audience, not cold traffic (and why Advantage+ gets turned off)
• What makes a Black Friday offer a "wow," including options for clients who refuse to discount
• The four-day vs. eight-day sale, the six email schedule, and why Cyber Monday is the bigger buying day
• The minimum ad budget Andy and I both landed on without talking about it first
• How to run a Black Friday offer for your own service business without giving away all your time
• Andy's bonus tip: branded search campaigns on Google

Mentioned in this episode:

• Strategist Society: https://thestrategistsociety.com
• Conversions for Clients: https://conversionsforclients.com
• Andy's Black Friday Revenue Calculator: https://blackfriday.andyfranco.com/
• Connect with Andy Franco: https://andyfranco.com/
• Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandimowles

Ready to scale past $10K months?

Andy ran his agency for 11 years on 100% referrals, and he'll tell you himself it was feast or famine. Strategist Society is where he finally started marketing his own business with the same energy he gives his clients. If you're ready to be the strategist and not the button pusher, come join us at https://thestrategistsociety.com.

Loved this episode?

Screenshot it, share it to your stories, and tag me @brandimowles so I can see your Black Friday plan.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Out of 300 episodes of this podcast, the number-one most downloaded episode of all time has nothing to do with running ads. It has nothing to do with landing clients. And honestly, y’all, when I pulled the numbers, it surprised me a little.

This is episode 300. Holy bananas. Seven years, 300 episodes, and I’m a little emotional about it. So to celebrate, Janessa pulled the 10 most downloaded episodes of all time, and I’m counting them down from 10 to 1 with the biggest lessons from each one in about two minutes.

Some of these I recorded five or six years ago, so I’ll tell you what’s changed since then (LinkedIn has doubled, we switched from Dubsado to HoneyBook, AI exists now) and what hasn’t. And stick around for the end, because when I laid all 10 side by side, they’re teaching the same four lessons over and over. Think of this as the greatest hits.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why LinkedIn is even more relevant now than when I recorded episode 106, and the connection-limit update you need to know
• The two things I want you to take from the bankruptcy episode, plus what’s happened in the eight years since (over $150K in student loans paid off, two houses, eight countries, debt-free)
• Julie’s three things to have in place before you hire, and why your first hire might not be in your business at all
• The five pricing personas, and which one is costing you the most
• Why onboarding starts the moment someone lands on your scheduling page, not when they sign
• How to find 100 local businesses to reach out to, even in a small town, using my Four B’s
• The four time tips I still use with two kids and homeschooling
• The 10 lessons from scaling to $1 million, including 24 Instagram posts and no website
• The DM strategy that works the numbers: 100 touchpoints a month, questions instead of statements
• Mel Abraham’s business machine and money machine, and how one conversation changed our finances
• The four lessons every top episode teaches about scaling a service-based business

The full countdown:

• #10: Attract High-Paying Clients on LinkedIn (Episode 106)
• #9: From Bankruptcy to Building Our Dream Home (Episode 135)
• #8: Hiring Success with Julie Calcote (Episode 140)
• #7: What’s Your Pricing Persona? (Episode 129)
• #6: Steal My 3 Phase Onboarding Process (Episode 71)
• #5: The Local Advantage: Finding High-Paying Clients in Your Own Backyard (Episode 245)
• #4: Finding Time To Do It All (Episode 133)
• #3: 10 Lessons I Learned Scaling to $1 Million (Episode 122)
• #2: Consistent Client Flow with Social Selling (Episode 246)
• #1: Building Wealth as a Service Provider with Mel Abraham (Episode 115)

Mentioned in this episode:

• Confident Ad Manager Bootcamp, October 5-8
• HoneyBook (our discount link)
• Predictable Clients Workshop
• Building Your Money Machine by Mel Abraham
• Conversions for Clients
• Strategist Society
• Read the full blog post

Which episode impacted you most? Send me a DM on Instagram at @brandimowles and tell me which one changed something in your business or life. I might just share it.

Just getting started? If you want to become an ad manager or land your first clients, head to conversionsforclients.com and get signed up for the Confident Ad Manager Bootcamp so you can see what it actually looks like to find clients and what the heck ad managers do.

Ready to scale past $10K months? If you’re already past $3K to $5K months and you’re looking for $10K, $15K, $20K, even $40K months working less than 25 hours a week, apply for a call at thestrategistsociety.com. We’ll talk through what’s going on in your business, your goals, and where you want to go heading into 2027.

Loved this episode? Three hundred episodes doesn’t happen without you. If the show has been worth your time, leave a star rating on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts, and tag @brandimowles on Instagram so I can say thank you.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Someone popped into Brandi’s inbox this morning and asked, “What’s the biggest mistake beginners make when they’re trying to get their first client?”

The answer: working for free or undercharging, because you think a low price is what finally gets somebody to say yes.

It isn’t. It’s the exact thing keeping you from getting hired. In this episode, Brandi gives you real numbers, no guessing, no “whatever you think she’ll say yes to.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why two students pitched $500 to $750 for a full year with no clients, then landed clients within 45 days after raising to $1,500
• The dentist test that explains exactly what a lowball price signals to your prospect
• The actual going rate for a brand new ad manager with zero experience, and where it came from
• The math on 5 to 7 clients at $1,500 versus needing 20 clients at $500 to hit the same $10K month
• The risk reversal method: the only time you go under $1,500, and the hard floor you never cross
• What to charge if you’re coming from corporate, an agency, or white labeling
• The exact script for when a prospect asks about your experience
• Why hourly pricing has built-in punishment for getting good at your job

Mentioned in this episode:

• Confident Ad Manager Bootcamp (October, last one of the year, four days of free content plus two bonus trainings on the watch page): https://confidentadmanager.com
• Conversions for Clients, for early-stage service providers landing their first clients: https://conversionsforclients.com
• Strategist Society, apply for a spot: https://thestrategistsociety.com
• Not All Clients Are Created Equal: The Champagne Client Matrix https://brandimowles.com/278
• How Much Time Does It Take To Run a Freelance Ad Management Business? https://brandimowles.com/297
• Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandimowles

Ready to scale past $10K months?

If you already have a business, you’re doing around $4,000 a month, and you are completely capped out on hours, that’s a different conversation than pricing your first client. Head to https://thestrategistsociety.com and apply for a spot. Let’s get on a call and look at where your hours are actually going. If Brandi can help, you’ll talk about it. If she can’t, you’ll still walk away with a game plan and clear next steps.

Loved this episode?

Leave a review on Apple or hit the stars on Spotify. It takes one minute, and it tells Brandi to keep doing the dang thing for another 300 episodes. Then come tell her which number you’re raising over on Instagram @brandimowles.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Katie's best month ever as a social media manager was $10,000. It took 40 hours a week, posting six days a week at specific times for each client, and it almost never happened twice.

Then her clients started cutting costs, and she started getting let go. "It's nothing you did." If that sentence has ever landed in your inbox, y'all, this episode is your sign.

Six months into Strategist Society, Katie has eight ad clients, works about 15 hours a week, and is on track for over $12,000 in September. She is also a homeschooling mom of three boys with a travel baseball schedule. Her life did not get smaller. Her business got smarter.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Katie lost an entire year to consumption mode after joining Conversions for Clients, and the exact question to ask yourself so you do not do the same thing
• The messaging fix that took her from 1 conversation per 30 messages to 1 per 5, and the three replies she got the same day she changed it
• Why it took roughly 90 days of daily touchpoints before her first discovery call, and the 45 to 60 day marketing timeline behind that
• How she manages eight ad clients in 15 hours a week while homeschooling three boys
• What actually happens on a business analysis call, and why Katie never felt pressured on it
• The one daily habit she credits above every strategy for propelling her business forward
• Why members who Vox me at least once a week 2X to 10X their business

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free boot camp and Conversions for Clients: conversionsforclients.com
• Strategist Society application: thestrategistsociety.com
• The Predictable Clients workshop (inside the programs)
• DM me the word PIVOT on Instagram @brandimowles for the lightning version of Katie's story and where I would start if I were you

Ready to scale past $10K months?

If you already have a service business and what you actually need is accountability, current training, and a room of people scaling to $10,000 months, Strategist Society is probably your place. We track our members' activity every single week, we have the income growth stats, and we have the retention numbers to back it up. Head to thestrategistsociety.com, fill out an application, and if we think you are a good fit we will be in touch to get you on a business analysis call just like Katie's.

Loved this episode?

Screenshot it, share it to your stories, and tag me @brandimowles. Send it to the friend who is drowning in daily posting for clients and does not know there is another way yet.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Have you ever wondered how long it actually takes to run a freelance ad management business?

Maybe you already have one and you are working your little booty off, opening your bank account thinking, “Holy bananas, I am not making enough money for how much I am working.” Maybe you are making good money and feel weird because you are not working enough, so you start inventing work. Or maybe you have not started yet and you are trying to figure out if you even have the hours.

In this episode, Brandi answers the time question with actual numbers. Not “it depends.” Real hours, broken down by stage, plus where those hours belong so you stop pouring time into things that have never landed anyone a client.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why four hours a week is enough when you are just starting a freelance ad management business, and how those hours split between education, list building, and marketing minutes
• The 40 to 60 minute Monday list-of-25 process and why a visual timer keeps it from eating your whole day
• Why 30 minutes a day of marketing minutes is the one thing that never changes at any stage
• The four hours per week per client breakdown (1 hour reporting, 1 hour creative, 1 hour copy, 1 hour campaign setup and monitoring) and why that is the ceiling, not the target
• When your time per client should drop way below four hours, and the red flags that mean you need to fix your process
• Why onboarding is the most expensive thing in your calendar and how retention is a time strategy
• How a Strategist Society member is doing $40,000 months working 30 to 35 hours a week, and how Brandi runs a million-dollar-a-year business in under 25

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free live bootcamp (October): brandimowles.com/bootcamp
• Strategist Society applications: thestrategistsociety.com
• DM Brandi the words TIME MANAGEMENT on Instagram @brandimowles if you want a full series on time management
• The Invisible Time Thief: Context Switching and Productivity: brandimowles.com/199
• The Conversions for Clients training: Creating Reports Clients Actually Want (available in Conversions For Clients)

Ready to scale past $10K months?

If you already have an ad management business and you are looking for more support and one-on-one coaching from Brandi, head to thestrategistsociety.com and apply for a spot. We will let you know when one opens and hop on a call to find out exactly where you are stuck. That is where you go if you want to make big girl money while getting your clients ridiculously good results and living a freedom-filled life.

Loved this episode?

Screenshot it, share it to your stories, and tag @brandimowles. And if the podcast has given you value, leave a quick review on Apple or drop some stars on Spotify. It is the biggest, kindest gift you can give a podcaster, and I appreciate every single one.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Michael made $65,000 last year working 15 to 20 hours a week, after she clocked out of her full-time job.

She is not quitting that job. The benefits are good, she loves the work, and I have never once told her she should leave. What she built is a full-time income on part-time hours, and she did it with an ugly proposal and five marketing minutes a day.

In this Student Spotlight, Michael walks through the whole thing: the "expensive jobby" she was running before she learned ads, the exact 45-day mark when clients started booking, the two-hour order of operations she runs every weeknight, and the moment she realized she was underpricing because she kept telling herself "this isn't my money."

If you have been using your job as the reason you cannot start, y'all, this episode takes that excuse right off the table.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The 45-day marketing minutes rule, and why Michael's first client landed almost exactly on schedule
• Why five marketing minutes a day beats fifteen (she tried fifteen first, and it did not stick)
• The exact 4-step order she runs her two hours in, and why most people do it backwards
• How to plan your week for the RESULT instead of the to-do list
• Why the ugly proposal and ugly Work With Me page never cost her a single client in two years
• The reason consuming more information keeps you safe but keeps you broke
• What it took to raise her prices when her brain kept saying "this isn't my money, it's someone else's"
• Why referrals are wonderful but are never a strategy (she lived through the dip)

Mentioned in this episode:

• Strategist Society: thestrategistsociety.com
• Free training, the three elements of a successful freelance ad management business: brandimowles.com/100k
• Conversions for Clients: conversionsforclients.com
• The 2020 income report episodes (the $250K to $1.2 million documentation Michael credits as the reason she started) brandimowles.com/income

Ready to scale past $10K months?

Strategist Society is where Michael gets the one-on-one Voxer support, the private podcast, and the strategy feedback that turned her side income into a full-time income. We only accept a few people each month when we have spots, and this quarter is filling up. Head to thestrategistsociety.com and apply for a call. We will look at your situation, figure out how I can support you, and if it is a fit, I will tell you. If it is not, I will tell you that too. No obligation either way.

Just getting started? Grab the free training at brandimowles.com/100k and learn how to run ads, build systems, and price your services inside Conversions for Clients.

Loved this episode?

Screenshot it, share it on your stories, and tag @brandimowles. Send it to the friend who keeps saying she would start a business if she did not have a job. She needs Michael's numbers.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

You are not doing too little. You’re doing too little of the right things.

I work one-on-one with 60 people a week inside Strategist Society, I’ve got over 1,000 people in Conversions For Clients, and across seven years I’ve worked with more than 3,000 freelancers. Same thread every single time: the to-do list is a mile long and most of it doesn’t matter.

The online space is loud. Post daily, be on LinkedIn, no wait, Threads, no wait, Facebook Groups are dead, no wait, they’re not. Holy bananas, is it noisy.

So in this episode I’m cutting through all of it. Three things. That’s the whole list. If it’s not one of these three, mark it off.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why only about 20% of your daily activity actually moves your business forward
• How to run your marketing minutes in 30 minutes a day (and why Parkinson’s Law is the reason it’s taking you two hours)
• The exact weekly structure: 25 names on Monday, 5 touchpoints a day, one channel only
• Why the student doing $40,000 months still does her marketing minutes every single day
• The difference between systems that buy back your time and systems you’re using to procrastinate
• Which systems matter when you’re brand new (and why your logo isn’t one of them)
• Why AI is genuinely bad at strategy, and why that makes expert knowledge your moat
• The 3-question filter to run your to-do list through this week

Mentioned in this episode:

• Predictable Clients Workshop
• The Standards of Excellence episode
• The Parking Lot System episode
• Books mentioned: Expert Secrets, DotCom Secrets, $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi, Influence by Robert Cialdini
• Conversions For Clients: https://conversionsforclients.com
• Strategist Society: https://thestrategistsociety.com
• DM me the word FOCUS on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandimowles

Ready to scale past $10K months?

This is exactly what I do with our students inside Strategist Society. I help you see why your to-do list feels so overwhelming, get you focused on what actually matters, walk you through the steps, and I’m there day to day on Voxer. If you want someone who’ll kick you in the butt AND help you grow your revenue, head to thestrategistsociety.com and apply for a call. It’s not a hardcore sales call. I’ll find your biggest gaps, tell you honestly if you’re a fit, and either way you’ll leave with clarity on your next step.

Loved this episode?

Leave a review on Apple or hit those stars on Spotify. That one minute is the best thank-you you can give me for all the free content, y’all. And screenshot this episode, share it to your stories, and tag me @brandimowles.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Ever wanted to snoop behind the scenes of a seven-figure business and see exactly what tools keep the whole thing running? Same. Brandi is nosy like that too.

In this episode, she's pulling back the curtain on her full 2026 tech stack, every piece of software she uses to run Serve Scale Soar and all seven of its revenue streams. But here's the honest part: you do not need all of it.

Brandi walks through what she recommends for service providers, what she'd do differently if she could go back, and the three tools she's actively cutting as AI keeps getting better. Grab your coffee and let's do the dang thing.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

• The only two all-in-one tools a service provider actually needs (and when to add more)
• Why Brandi runs 90% of her business inside FG Funnels, and who should skip it
• How Claude built a full Notion revenue dashboard for her in 15 minutes
• Why she still recommends Asana over ClickUp and Notion for most freelancers
• Which AI tools she pays for (only 2) and which she uses on the free plan
• The 3 tools she's cutting in 2026 and the real reason why
• Why simplifying your stack matters more than the software bill itself

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• HoneyBook (30% off first year): brandimowles.com/honeybook
• HoneyBook in a Hurry ($37 shortcut with one-click installs)
• FG Funnels (discount codes): brandimowles.com/fgfunnels
• Conversions for Clients (early-stage service providers): conversionsforclients.com
• The Strategist Society (scaling past $10K months): thestrategistsociety.com

READY TO SCALE PAST $10K MONTHS?

If you're a one-on-one service provider ready to build big-girl-money months with real support, come see what we're building inside the Strategist Society. It's the room, the community, and the daily voice support that helps you scale without hustling yourself into the ground. Head to thestrategistsociety.com.

LOVED THIS EPISODE?

Screenshot it, share it to your stories, and tag @brandimowles so Brandi can hang out with you over there. 

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Let me say it loud for the people in the back. Services are the fastest path to cash, and they always will be. I will die on that hill.

In this episode, I sit down with Samantha Fine, a longtime student and Strategist Society member who has been through every phase of business. She started during the pandemic, shut it down for a dream job at Coca-Cola, got discriminated against for being a mom, had her second baby, and relaunched with one goal: pick her son up from kindergarten every single day.

She spent most of 2024 chasing the passive income dream and made $500. Then she went all in on services and finished 2025 at nearly $80,000, all while working a full-time job for eight months of the year. This is the real math on services versus digital products, and the framework that scales it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why digital products are never as passive as you were sold, and the two things you need before you build one
• The exact moment services beat a course (and the $500 vs $80K math behind it)
• The Strategist Trifecta: how to scale past your retainer ceiling without adding hours
• How Samantha signed a new client almost every month at $3K retainers and a $5K ads intensive
• Why being willing to ask questions and be vulnerable is the real growth hack
• The discovery call teardown that taught the whole room where deals get lost
• Why your business is not your hobby, and the "choose your hard" mindset that changes everything

Mentioned in this episode:

• Strategist Society (apply if you are at $3K+/mo): https://thestrategistsociety.com
• Conversions For Clients (start your ad management business): https://conversionsforclients.com

Ready to scale past $10K months?

If you are already doing $3,000 or more with your service business and you want to be in the room with women like Samantha, head to thestrategistsociety.com and apply for a call. We will look at exactly where you are and what your next step is. No million-dollar-agency pressure, just real strategy that fits your real life.

Loved this episode?

Screenshot it, share it to your stories, and tag @brandimowles so I can cheer you on. It helps another service provider find this exact lesson before she wastes a year on the wrong thing.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Eight years ago this month, I was sitting on my bathroom floor, five months postpartum, crying, googling "legit work from home jobs" so I could pay a bankruptcy attorney and still buy formula and diapers.

That was rock bottom. It was also the decision that changed my entire life.

This week is my eight-year business anniversary, and instead of a "look how far I've come" celebration post, I'm doing something different. I'm pulling you up a chair like we're sitting in my favorite coffee shop and giving you the 8 biggest lessons from 8 years of building this thing. Some are about how you build the business. Some are about how you have to show up. And the last one changes everything.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why a boring business is actually the best business (and the coach line that woke me up)
• The KISS rule that pulled my revenue back up in 60 days after I overcomplicated everything
• Why one-on-one is your fastest path to cash and a course is your best path to scale (with Samantha's $500 vs $150K story)
• How I scaled to multiple seven figures with a team of two, working under 25 hours a week
• The confidence tax you pay for bargain bin clients that no refund can cover
• The 5 standards of excellence that took us from $350K back to $675K
• Why a structured schedule is the thing that actually buys you freedom
• The mindset shift in Lesson 8 that ties all of it together

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Conversions For Clients (early-stage service providers): https://conversionsforclients.com
• Strategist Society (scaling past $10K months): https://thestrategistsociety.com
• DM me the word EIGHT on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandimowles
• The Bounce Back episode (the post-Bodhi revenue dip story): https://brandimowles.com/253
• Samantha's episode (the marketing pro who restarted her ad management business): https://brandimowles.com/136

READY TO SCALE PAST $10K MONTHS?

If Lessons 3 and 4 lit something up in you and you're ready to scale toward consistent $30K months with a lean team, simple offers, and real structure, that is exactly what we build inside Strategist Society. Come see if it's your room: https://thestrategistsociety.com

LOVED THIS EPISODE?

Take a screenshot, share it to your stories, and tag me @brandimowles so I can celebrate eight years with you. It genuinely helps more service providers find the show.

Now go do the dang thing.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany