Small Stage, Big Impact

When Craig and I visited Cordelia in Cleveland, the last thing I wanted was to take the server up on their offer to talk to the owner. Restaurant owners have been some of my least favorite people to talk to for a long time. But Andrew Watts was a delight, and our whole evening turned into one of the best lessons on the values, beliefs, and community I've had in years.

In this episode, I walk through what Cordelia's "3-Core" looks like in practice, from Midwest Nice to Placebinding™ to the way they answer their 1-star reviews.

Nearly two-thirds of searches happen on mobile, and a bad experience there costs trust and conversions. In this episode, I talk about why mobile websites mostly suck, why we small businesses are part of the reason Google keeps users on its own platform, and why a lazy mobile design is the brand equivalent of poor customer service.

The good news is that it doesn't take much to get it right. It just takes intentionality, starting with three simple baselines.

The media spent the summer calling the surge in solo businesses a 'fake business boom.' I dug into the data and found something else: just under half of new businesses are started by women, in a dataset that doesn't even track gender. Most small business research is built to leave women-owned companies out entirely, and I talk about why that matters. In today's episode, I also share my own path, from solo owner to a 10-person team.

Google's AI Overviews are confident, familiar, and wrong more often than you'd think. In this episode, I talk about why I stopped trusting them blindly, and why most of us need to question our search habits, myself included.

Most of us are bad at searching and don't know it, and because we expect Google to be accurate, we trust it more than other LLMs. That's why I've started trusting Reddit, Discord, and actual humans over Google.

In this episode, we'll get into:

• Why using Google every day doesn't make us good at searching.
• How AI Overviews can sound convincing and still get the answer wrong.
• What inaccurate AI summaries mean for small businesses trying to be found and trusted.
• Why I'm turning to Reddit, Discord, and actual humans for advice grounded in experience.

For two decades, small businesses built their marketing on Google traffic. This summer, that era officially ended.

I've spent those same two decades inside the organic internet. I was there for the wide-open early days, when Facebook reach was free and keyword strategy was still mostly untapped. I was there when the work turned into aggressive algorithm-gaming. And around 2014, I realized the "meritocracy" of organic search and social was already ending.

That pushed me toward brand-first strategy years before most of the industry caught up.

Now Google stacks ads, AI Overviews, and aggregators across the results page before you reach a single organic link.

In today's episode, I walk through how we got here and why better SEO is no longer the answer. Small businesses need a brand strong enough to survive a search engine that no longer wants to send anyone anywhere.

Has running a business taken over your life?

You're making good money and have no shortage of clients. You're feeling pretty successful with this business that you've built from the ground up.

But you feel that if you blink too long it will start to crumble. Taking a day off is out of the question.

You know you need to take your business to the next level, but you're not sure how to get there.

In today's episode, we'll discuss what's keeping you from growing your lifestyle brand into a full-blown business that you can lead while still having a life.

When you realize that making money was the easy part...

When the thing you thought would give you freedom leaves you in chains...

When you've bought all the courses and watched all the videos and still have no life outside of work...

It's time to assess your mess and figure out how to go from the Head Doer to the Leader of People.

I've been working with my long-time friend and project managing guru Stephanie Veraghen to bring you the Assess Your Mess quiz.

The purpose of this quiz is to help you pinpoint your next steps:

Do you need to put a project management platform in place?

Do you need to spend time developing personas and brand guidelines?

Do you need to better understand how your marketing and sales decisions affect the rest of your company?

What specific action can you take right now to turn your business mess into magic?

Join me in today's episode to learn more about what it takes to scale your business to 7-figures in a sustainable, values-driven way.

You've done the work to lay a firm foundation for your business. Now it's time to add the logistical framework that will allow you to scale into a company that finally gives you the personal freedom you've been searching for.

Listen to episode 60 now!

• [5:18] The key step all businesses must take to scale 7-figures
• [11:46] What business owners should NOT do when trying to grow their business beyond themselves
• [17:13] What the Assess Your Mess quiz assesses and how it can guide you toward your next steps
• [19:38] Why defining your purpose at this level is more essential than it was as a start-up
• [26:04] A common misunderstanding about the role of a CEO at different stages of a business
• [32:55] The importance of understanding how your marketing and sales decisions affect the rest of your company
• [39:05] What referrals can tell you about the sustainability of your business
• [42:35] How the Assess Your Mess quiz results can help you figure out your next steps in sustainably scaling your business

• Take the Brand Archetype Quiz and figure out your next steps
• Learn more about Stephanie Veraghen
• Sign up for 2-Minute Tuesdays to get weekly digital strategy tips in your inbox: https://realignyourstrategy.com/two-on-tuesdays/
• Leave a review on iTunes.
• Connect with Renia on LinkedIn.
• Don't miss an episode of season 5 of Small Stage, Big Impact.

Are you ready to revitalize your business and take it to the next level?

This week I'm teaming up with project manager and business systems extraordinaire Stephanie Veraghen. We've been working hard behind the scenes to bring you a business development program you won't find anywhere else.

Have you been there, done that with marketing courses and project management systems - and still not gotten the results you need?

Are you ready to get some systems in place and learn to delegate so that you can be the leader your company needs?Are you ready to get your shit together so your business life doesn't have to BE your life?

Then this episode is for you.

We are introducing the Get Your Shit Together Intensive for mature businesses who are ready to take things to the next level.

In today's episode, Stephanie and I talk about what you can expect from the Get Your Shit Together program.

First, this is NOT a coaching course. We will work alongside you and your team to develop personalized systems and strategies to help you build a sustainable business. We want your business to keep growing and succeeding long after we're no longer in the picture.

Second, this intensive will provide you with a community of other business owners and CEOs. Like you, these leaders are working to build sustainable values-driven companies. It can be lonely at the top - but it doesn't have to be.

Third, we want to help you strengthen your team on a personal level. Being a values-driven leader is about putting people first, and that includes your team. We'll work on ways to help you communicate, delegate, and self-regulate to be the leader your company needs.

We're pretty excited about this program and can't wait to see what we can create together with you.

Does the Get Your Shit Together Intensive sound like what you've been looking for?

Join us in today's episode to find out more details and how you can apply.

Listen to episode 59 now!

• [3:46] How the GYST intensive came about and how Stephanie and Renia's experiences and expertise overlap
• [6:48] The most common issue clients are struggling with when Stephanie and Renia begin to work with them
• [8:40] What you can expect in the GYST intensive and how it is NOT a coaching course
• [25:44] The general structure of the GYST program and the importance of being real about the state of your business
• [29:05] How business management and digital strategy work together to get your business to the next stage
• [33:09] Why there is an application process for the GYST program and who should apply
• [36:52] Final details about the GYST initiative

• 2026 Update: Our updated offering is now called The $250K Club. Check it out here!
• Learn more about Stephanie Veraghen - business coach, brand consultant, and project manager
• Discover how HeartMath can help you in your personal and professional lives.
• Sign up for 2-Minute Tuesdays to get weekly digital strategy tips in your inbox.
• Leave a review on iTunes.
• Connect with Renia on LinkedIn.
• Don't miss an episode of season 5 of Small Stage, Big Impact.

Are you unsure where to start to #DoBetterDigital with your marketing strategy?

This Tuesday, your next step will be delivered right to your inbox.

The Genevieve Digital team has been working hard to create actionable resources for business leaders like you: Leaders who want to get better results with digital marketing without compromising their values.

To make those #DoBetterDigital resources readily available, we're starting 2-Minute Tuesdays.

These weekly emails will take two minutes out of your day, but the impact on your business will be boundless.

With 2-Minute Tuesdays, you will learn things like:

• How to write click-worthy metadata,
• How to optimize internal links in a blog post, and
• How to apply your values to sales funnels.

Our goal is to provide you with actionable tips that you can put into place immediately.

These emails will also give you exclusive access to the Genevieve Digital Team for questions and feedback.

We've been receiving an incredible number of emails from our listeners. To streamline the process, we are now encouraging you to submit your questions by responding to the 2-Minute Tuesdays emails. This ensures our team has the capacity to answer your questions.

As an added bonus, every few episodes, Renia will choose audience questions to address directly on the show.

How do you sign up?

Go to https://realignyourstrategy.com/two-on-tuesdays/ to get your name on the list.

But wait!

That's not the only thing our team has been working on. We're about to launch a new program designed especially for mature businesses. The rollout will begin next week with a special episode. Be sure to tune in!

In today's episode, be sure to listen for

• More details about 2-Minute Tuesdays
• What our new program is all about
• What you can expect in next week's "Get Your Shit Together" episode (with a special guest!)
• A mini-lesson in how an ounce of courage can create your most effective CTAs

Listen to episode 58 now!

• [4:20] What our team has been creating behind the scenes just for you
• [6:04] What the 2-Minute Tuesdays emails are all about and how to sign up
• [9:00] The #1 tip for creating an effective CTA, especially with an audience that supports you
• [11:35] The new program designed specifically for mature businesses that will be rolling out soon
• [14:40] Why Renia is especially passionate about #DoBetterDigital and offering resources to businesses right now

• Sign up for 2-Minute Tuesdays.
• Leave a review on iTunes.
• Connect with Renia on LinkedIn.
• Don't miss an episode of season 5 of Small Stage, Big Impact.

Search Engine Marketing is essential to a sustainable marketing strategy. But how do you ensure that your SEM is values-driven?

In the last episode, we talked about the advantages of an SEO marketing strategy over one driven by social media.

This week we are taking a deeper dive into Search Engine Marketing (SEM). We will explore how to optimize this platform and #DoBetterDigital.

In 2021, the search engine is its own platform. It requires a specific engagement strategy to be effective.

And when it comes to the Trinity Principle, I highly advocate that search be your primary marketing platform.

Search Engine Marketing doesn't come without flaws. But it also has some major benefits when compared with social media:

• Search is generally a more level playing field, especially for small and micro-businesses.
• The intentionality you put into search produces higher, longer-lasting dividends.
• Over time, search requires less hustle for bigger, more sustainable results.

In a 2021 world, you can't afford NOT to focus on Search Engine Marketing.

In today's episode, we'll discuss exactly where to put your focus to get the most out of SEM.

I'm giving you a list of nine best practices for effective SEM. As always, these practices will help you grow your business while staying true to your values.

I'm covering a lot of information in today's episode, including some technical jargon. To help you keep track of the details, my team is sharing the cheat sheet that we use with each of our clients. Download your SEM cheat sheet here.

Are you ready to increase your visibility on the internet and build a more sustainable business?

Listen to episode 57 now!

• [6:04] The good and the ugly of SEM when compared to other platforms.
• [12:07] How to use a small ad budget strategically and carefully for greatest effect
• [15:02] How Youtube videos can help your search rankings, especially when they are optimized
• [17:11] The vital role of local search, even for online businesses
• [20:45] Why you shouldn't overlook Google Shopping if you have product
• [22:00] The importance of moving beyond keywords and connecting with intent
• [25:05] How intentionally used rich snippets can bring you better traffic
• [27:15] Why you should check your Core Web Vitals on a regular basis, especially if traffic has decreased
• [30:06] How to increase your ranking on Google by using the acronym E.A.T.
• [34:25] When you should consider if a non-Google SEM strategy is worth a look

• Download your Search Engine Marketing cheat sheet for today's episode: https://realignyourstrategy.com/sem-cheat-sheet-opt-in-landing-page/
• Revisit our episode on SEM best practices.
• Learn why three platforms are all you need with the Trinity Principle.
• Learn how to optimize your YouTube channel with these past episodes:
• • How to Kick Ass at Metadata
  • Thinking Beyond Transcripts
• Review the importance of a #DoBetterDigital copy-first marketing strategy:
• • Choosing a Copy-First Digital Strategy in a Video World
  • CTAs That Work
  • Blogging in 2021 (And Beyond)
• Read more about E.A.T. and Google's search engine ranking factors.
• Leave a review on iTunes.
• Connect with Renia on LinkedIn.
• Email Renia with questions or feedback.
• Don't miss an episode of season 5 of Small Stage, Big Impact.

If you're tired of the hamster wheel of social media content creation, it's time to focus on a more sustainable business model.

It's a fact that our world is largely influenced by social media. It's also true that social media can be a useful tool in your digital marketing strategy - especially with a #DoBetterDigital mindset.

But the idea that we can constantly be "on" and responsive is not a business model.

When you focus much of your marketing dollars and effort on social media, you can guarantee one thing: you're headed for burnout.

The issue with relying on social media to drive the majority of your sales is that social media requires constant engagement. If you take a week off, your bottom line suffers. What you created for last month's campaign isn't going to continue generating leads or sales after the campaign is over.

In today's episode, I am proposing a more sustainable focus for your marketing: a search-first digital strategy.

This means optimizing your website for search. It means

• Developing in-depth, evergreen content,
• Focusing on keywords, alt-tags, and metadata,
• Considering site speeds and mobile compatibility,
• Creating backlinks and internal links, and
• Focusing on user experience.

An SEO-first marketing strategy does require a bit of work upfront. That's why I've spent several episodes talking about SEO and how to do it effectively.

But dollar for dollar, a search-based strategy provides you with more value than a social media-based one.

Check out these statistics:

• 53%: The percentage of all trackable website traffic that comes from organic search. (BrightEdge)
• 5%: The percentage of all trackable traffic that comes from paid social. (BrightEdge)

This is partly because content driven by SEO can continue to get traffic for years. Meanwhile, that video you spent hours on for your social media platform last month has probably already run its course.

But how do you make that transition to a search-first strategy?

And what about all those influencers who've amassed a huge audience?

Can't you simply add keywords to your social media posts and call it a day?

I answer these questions and more in today's episode.

If you're looking to create a business model that does the work for you - even when you take a break - you need to shift your focus to SEO.

Listen to episode 56 now!

• [4:48] Why it's important to consider what you're building when choosing a business model
• [10:27] Why you should consider what's happening in your business when making the shift to search-based marketing
• [13:06] Why an SEO-based business model just makes sense based on human behavior
• [14:59] What the long-term implications are of focusing more on search than social media
• [21:00] Why it used to be easier to depend on a social media marketing strategy
• [26:16] The difference between SEO and SEM, and why both matter
• [28:38] How to SEO has changed in the last ten years
• [29:55] What to expect when transitioning from a social media based strategy to a search-first business model

• Learn why SEO is a long-term strategy (You'll want to bookmark this one!)
• Review what a copy-first digital strategy is and why it works.
• Leave a review on iTunes.
• Connect with Renia on LinkedIn.
• Email Renia with questions or feedback.
• Don't miss an episode of season 5 of Small Stage, Big Impact.