Welcome back to the Seven Strong Podcast! I'm your host, Holly Hillyer. In today's episode, we talk managing work-life balance as an entrepreneur, particularly stepping out of the "office" without losing business momentum.

- Transition from a corporate job to entrepreneurship
- Challenges and advantages of the "laptop life"
- Strategies for truly disconnecting while on vacation
- Tips for using social media effectively without it consuming your life
- Planning and automation tactics to maintain business operations while away
- The importance of empowering language in personal and professional decisions

Ready to take control of your business and enjoy your life more fully? Tune in to this episode for strategies that can help you maintain balance and success simultaneously. Don't forget to subscribe and share!

Episode Resources

• Lead Gen Cheat Code

Welcome my good friend and Facebook ads expert, Kwadwo [QUĀY.jo], to the podcast. Kwadwo, the host of the Art of Online Business Podcast, shares his vast knowledge and experience in optimizing Facebook ads for business success. We chat about his journey from China to Mexico, his initial struggles with Facebook ads, and how he transformed his approach to achieve remarkable results. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or just getting started with Facebook ads, this episode offers invaluable strategies and practical advice to elevate your advertising game!

Listen in as we cover:

• Boosting Posts vs. Running Ads
• Identifying Readiness for Ads
• Creating Effective Ads
• Managing Ads
• Ad Targeting:

On today’s episode, we're diving into the world of visual branding with Chris Beltran!

Mentioned:
- Visual Vibe Workshop (July 30th)
- Build your Brand In A Day

Chris Beltran is an award winning Brand Strategist and Founder at Brand Your Impact who has worked with some of today’s top online entrepreneurs that run multiple six & seven figure brands. As a leading expert in personal branding, he has worked with notable Tedx speakers, best selling authors and world renowned influencers that lead their own branded movements. 

We'll explore:

    -The pitfalls of personal branding
    -How to infuse your values into a unique brand atmosphere
    -Brand transformations with clients like James Wedmore
    -The importance of a brand style guide

Don't miss our upcoming Visual Vibe Workshop (July 30th) and you can find Chris' 'brand in a day' service here!

In today's episode, I share my personal journey and insights on finding the perfect balance between managing stress, maintaining hormonal health, and thriving in both business and personal life.

• My Health Wake-Up Call: Discovering perilously low cortisol levels and how it felt like hitting a wall at full speed. Learn about the symptoms and consequences of prolonged stress that many entrepreneurs face.
• Sustainable Stress Management: Explore sustainable strategies to manage stress and maintain a balanced life, ensuring the growth of your business and your personal happiness.
• Morning Routine for Success: Dive into my morning routine, crafted for optimal productivity and wellness amidst the chaos of entrepreneurship and motherhood. From meditation with the Unplug app to nightly breathing exercises, see how these habits have transformed my life.
• Healthy Lifestyle Choices: Understand the significance of a gut-friendly diet, sobriety, and effective communication with my spouse, David, in balancing our parenting duties.
• Aligning Routines with Goals: Learn how aligning your daily routines with your desired lifestyle can help you build successful businesses and bigger dreams.

My journey from burnout to balance shows that maintaining hormonal health is key to entrepreneurial success.

In today's episode, I share my personal journey and insights on finding the perfect balance between sharing my life and business on social media.

• How I've evolved my social media strategy over the years
• The importance of micro-niching and expert positioning
• How to create content that attracts your ideal clients
• Understanding your target audience and creating content that resonates with them
• Balancing personal and professional content on social media

I discuss my experiences building my business and personal brand on Instagram and highlight key takeaways that you can apply to your own social media strategy.

Go to sevenstrong.com/community to learn more about my seven strong social methods and how to apply it to your own business.

Tune into today’s episode to hear my client Sarah share how she grew her account by 40K followers in 6 months.

The doors to the Blueprint to Social Selling are now open! Learn more at www.sevenstrong.com/blueprint

It’s no secret that the Instagram algorithm has gone off the deep end over the last month or so, but if you are using that as an excuse or reason to not grow on Instagram, I have some tough love for you today. 

You can not control the algorithm, but you CAN control how you respond to it. And you have a choice to either use these shifts as the reason you pull away from the platform, or you can lean in.

On today’s episode, I am sharing:

• What the algorithm should have to do with your emotions 
• What to do when the algorithm changes, and how to ride the wave
• The importance of knowing your numbers and following the metrics that truly matter
• Why your email list is crucial during this time
• When the right time is to build out your automated social funnel (spoiler alert- it's right now).

Which is why I am hosting a free workshop, called Automate your Social Sales, that is going to show you how I was able to unplug and really be present just weeks ahead of my biggest launch of the year. This automated funnel has not only brought consistent leads and sales into my business, but also given me the freedom to live my life fully at the same time, and I can’t wait to show you how we did it!

Want to learn more? Go to https://www.sevenstrong.com/workshop to register!

I am back on the podcast this week and back home after an amazing trip to Bora Bora. I share more in this episode but this was such a great opportunity for me to reflect on not only how much my businesses have grown over the years, but also how much I have grown.

The last time I was in Bora Bora was in 2022 and I remember feeling so stressed and working the entire time, feeling this urge that I could not just relax. And this trip, that was not at all the case.

Not only did both my businesses make money, but I was able to fully unplug and be present in the moment with my husband and really reset before our upcoming big launch.

On today’s episode, I am sharing a few maybe unpopular opinions about online courses, and why I believe the old way of doing things does not work anymore.

I am coming at you raw and unfiltered, and sharing my thoughts on:

• How much is too much information in your online course
• Why people don’t finish courses, and what you need to do about it as the creator
• The importance of coaching your clients to success (and why this is a non-negotiable for me)
• Why people have lost trust in marketing programs, and how to stand out as an expert in today’s market
• And more

I also shared that my upcoming free workshop, Automate your Social Sales is going to show you how I was able to unplug and really be present just weeks ahead of my biggest launch of the year. This automated funnel has not only brought consistent leads and sales into my business, but also given me the freedom to live my life fully at the same time, and I can’t wait to show you how we did it!

Want to learn more? Go to https://www.sevenstrong.com/workshop to register!

Being in business for over 9 years has given me some perspective, and something I think about a lot is what I would do differently if I were to do it all over again. I spent a lot of time early on doing things the hard way, or being stuck in fear around some things that could have helped me grow even faster. And I can definitely point to some key decisions in the past that have made all the difference in my growth. 

Of course, I learned these lessons through experience, but I love hearing from other successful business owners how they have grown and so on today’s podcast I am sharing the big lessons I have learned along the way, and what I would change if I could go back and do it all over again. 

In this episode, I share:

• My biggest lesson about getting help, and what I would do differently
• What my biggest bottleneck was in scaling and how I overcame it
• The secret to doing more without doing MORE
• Why it took me so long to adopt the systems to really let me scale
• The kind of support I wish I had earlier in my business

One of the biggest lessons has been creating an automated system that has helped me grow my list on autopilot using Instagram, and after hearing from so many business owners who don’t have this set up, I have put together a free workshop to teach you how to Automate your Social Sales. I can’t wait to show you how we have grown our list by thousands organically using automations. Want to learn more? 

Go to Sevenstrong.com/workshop

In the last 90 days, we have grown our email list by over 1200 subscribers completely organically using Instagram. This was not an accident. While most business gurus will tell you that you need to spend money on ads to grow your list, we have found that having a clear, intentional strategy on Instagram has been more effective (and way more profitable) than ads alone.

And in this episode, I am sharing the 4 simple steps to creating an Instagram to Email List pipeline that converts like crazy and brings in leads on autopilot.

I am sharing:
     - Why creating systems that grow your business for you is so important when you want to create balance in your life and business
     - The biggest mistake business owners make when it comes to their social media content
     - The asset you must have in your business to convert followers into subscribers
     - The secret to automating it all, and how its easier to set up than you think
     - And the key ingredient that brings it all together

I have created a free workbook that teaches you exactly how to create a high converting lead magnet so you can grow your list on autopilot.

Check it out at  Free Guide to creating your first irresistible lead magnet!