Soulful MBA Podcast

In today’s episode, we are talking all about in-person gatherings and the powerful effects they can have on your online business. As online entrepreneurs, we find that our offline and online identities can become incongruent with one another. This can lead to feelings of isolation, which is why it is so important to connect with like-minded people in-person.

Attending live events can often seem like a hassle, but because as humans, we are hardwired for connection, the benefits of attendance far outweigh these perceived obstacles.

We love attending these gatherings so much and believe in their power so much that we have decided to organize a retreat of our own in April 2020 in the hills of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Although organizing the event is a great deal of work, it ‘s worth it for the connection and all-round magic that takes place. These events have helped us connect with one another and so many others and we hope to inspire you to attend or even organize a gathering of your own to foster deep and boundless connections. 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Some of the benefits of having in-person gatherings.
•   Why these events are gifts of connection and growth.
•   The capacity for in-person connection is much higher than what is possible virtually.
•   Even though we work online, we should place equal importance on our offline lives.
•   Paying for an event puts ‘skin in the game,’ and enhances the richness of the gathering.
•   Work trips are opportunities for busy moms to put your needs front and center.
•   Meeting in person can save time because it offers a dedicated, continuous work period.
•   Some of the details of our 2020 Sante Fe retreat (including a chance to save $200).

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Namastream

Soulful MBA on Facebook

Joy: Ken Burns’ Country Music Documentary 

Hustle: Gather + Grow Retreat

Welcome to another episode of The Soulful MBA podcast! Today’s guest is Becca Tracey. Becca is Founder of The Uncaged Life, where she teaches solopreneurs – typically life-coaches, designers, and consultants – how to get new clients and launch their businesses. 

We invited Becca on the show to share with you how she has crafted a life based on freedom and adventure. Becca lives a life that is the definition of “uncaged”—a type of life we’ve all spoken about having but often don’t know what steps to take to make it a reality.

Becca launches just one-product twice a year— that’s it! This business model enables her to spend most of the year traveling in her van, rock-climbing throughout North America with her partner and dog, and take weeks off at a time to go backpacking—while still maintaining high-revenue and consistent offerings.

In this episode, you’ll discover exactly how Becca set up her business, what she sells, and how often she launches. Becca shows us that less really can be so much more and how the uncaged life is possible for you too!

Key Points from This Episode:

•   Becca’s backstory as a life coach and how she transitioned to where she is today.
•   Giving others the permission to let go of the things they think they have to do.
•   Discover how Becca runs her business on one offering that launches just twice a year.
•   Why doing one thing and doing it well is the key to a successful online business.
•   Becca explains the evolvement of her product from the start to where it is today.
•   Why it takes two years before you have something that will make your business lift-off.
•   Owning what you don’t know: Why humility is an important characteristic for entrepreneurs.
•   Money mindsets and talking to friends about your online business, goals, and earnings.
•   Becca shares what her business and her lifestyle look like on a yearly basis.
•   Going evergreen and making the decision to hire team members for support.

Words of Wisdom:

“I learned from watching successful business owners. Most of them who are killing it, just sell one thing.” — @rebecca_tracey 

“It takes a while to get confident with owning what your expertise is and letting the rest go.” — @rebecca_tracey

“Don’t not do something because of a future problem that hasn’t happened yet.” — @rebecca_tracey

“Building an online business is not rocket science. Our mindset is usually what gets in our way.” — @rebecca_tracey 

“I didn’t build a business so I could just work Monday to Friday with two weeks of vacation!” — @rebecca_tracey

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

The Uncaged Life

Becca Tracey on Instagram

Becca Tracey on Facebook

Becca Tracey on Twitter

Beta Launch Lab

Namastream

Joy: Becca’s boyfriend + dog

Hustle: The Voxer App

If you’ve ever worried that you need a massive email list or social following to successfully  launch as online program, this week’s guest is living proof that you absolutely do not.  

Ericka Thomas, founder of Elemental Kinetics LLC, joins us on the show to share the juicy numbers from her first-ever online launch. As a recent graduate of our new Beta Launch Lab course (our Inner Circle clients got first dibs!), Ericka has truly embraced a new entrepreneurial mindset and found well-earned success right out of the gate.

Ericka breaks down her real numbers for us on the podcast—including the size of her email list, and the number of sales she saw come in during her launch. This episode is really about embracing the very beginning of the business journey—when it’s all about those first sales, the three- and four-figure launches, and the tiny email list. There is SO much emphasis on the six-figure launches, but this is not where any of us start. We all start small and this is such a thrilling place to be!

Fundamentally, Ericka’s story is about embracing a new identity and transitioning from employee to entrepreneur. If you have ever doubted your readiness for starting your own online because you aren’t experienced enough, famous enough, technical enough, big enough—Ericka’s story will help you to see that you are probably more ready than you think.

Key Points from This Episode:

•   How Ericka transitioned from an independent yoga practitioner to starting her own business.
•   Ericka’s passion for trauma-informed yoga and tension-release exercise (TRE) and how she is working to weave this into her online business.
•   The process of figuring out what your clients want: Who to ask and what to ask them?
•   How to take the information your clients have given you and use it to expand your network.
•   Shift Under Pressure: Learn more about the product Ericka launched for her Beta Course.
•   The importance of the 27-word persuasion sentence for your first product launch.
•   16 sign-ups by midnight: Discover the surprising results from Ericka’s first launch.
•   Dealing with an identity crisis in the middle of your launch and realizing your self-worth.
•   How to get at least half the people on your email list to buy your Beta program.
•   Connecting with your clients and the value of launching to an audience that knows you.
•   And much more!

Words of Wisdom:

“You just need to pick your people and stick with them.” —@namastream [0:08:20]

“Sometimes if you want something different, you have to let the other thing go.” — Ericka Thomas [0:26:20]

“You can’t quit before you start.” — Ericka Thomas [0:28:20]

“Before, I never looked at what I did as a business.” — Ericka Thomas [0:28:50]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Elemental Kinetics LLC — http://www.elementalkinetics.com

Elemental Kinetics on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/elementalkineticsmovewell/

Ericka Thomas on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericka-thomas-282060b7/

ConvertKit — https://convertkit.com/

Beta Launch Lab — http://betalaunchlab.com/

Namastream — https://namastream.com/

Joy: salad for breakfast!

Hustle: Inner Circle (which includes Namastream, Beta Launch Lab, + lots more!)

Our guest today is Nicole Lebreux. Nicole is a yoga instructor, a whole-plant herbalist, a mom, and the founder of Nicole Lebreux Yoga and Wellness.

One of our Inner Circle clients, Nicole is an inspiring example of what you can achieve when you take action and invest in yourself. She has achieved fantastic results by following the step-by-step process that we lay out in our Beta Launch Lab—our brand new course on how to launch a profitable digital product within 30 days.Rather than come up with excises, Nicole went through the course, got down to business, and made some money! Although she has a smaller email list and a not-massive following on social media, she still had a fantastic launch.

We see SO people delaying an online launch because they believe they don’t yet have a big enough following. In this episode, Nicole debunks this myth by sharing her numbers, walking us through her beta launch process, providing tips on pricing, digital product curation, and community interaction.

Most importantly, we hear about the massive mindset shift Nicole experienced when she decided to invest in herself and in her business, and the impact this had on her results. Nicole is a force of nature, passion, and enthusiasm—and by the end of this episode, she’ll have you feeling like you can take a chance on yourself and your business too. 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Why Nicole was inspired to move into the online/digital space after the birth of her child.
•   Making the shift from working for someone else to working for yourself using an online model.
•   Challenges with adapting to teaching online from a background of teaching in-person.
•   Navigating tech, software and digital strategies and products for your online business.
•   The Beta Launch Lab and how to use it to build a solid foundation for your online business.
•   Using your online and in-person community to help you develop your first digital product.
•   Nicole shares what she built for her Beta Launch Lab course product and how she did it.
•   Why you don’t need great numbers to achieve great success in your online business.
•   From “cart open” to “cart close”: How many sign-ups do you really need?
•   Tips for deciding on how to price your first beta course or program.
•   Where to turn for support and how to take action if you’re not a self-motivated person.
•   Discover how investing in yourself can help you take your business more seriously.
•   And much more!

Words of Wisdom:

“Everything I have to share, you can find online, but it’s not coming from me. People want to hear it from me.” — Nicole Lebreux [0:20:20] 

“I didn’t know how powerful investing in yourself is, energetically. Once I did that, it totally changed the game.” — Nicole Lebreux [0:25:50]

“I think the investment, at first, is probably the scariest thing if you’re not used to spending on yourself.” — Nicole Lebreux [0:26:30]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Nicole Lebreux

Nicole Lebreux on Instagram

Journey With Your Chakras

Elements of Abundance

Beta Launch Lab

Namastream

Joy: local CSA (community supported agriculture) programs

Hustle: Namastream’s Inner Circle Program

This episode of our show was inspired by a recent blog post by Seth Godin, titled “What Do You Own?”

Today’s economy is rapidly shifting. The old capitalist model of going to school, getting into college, and settling down into one job for the rest of your life – is almost non-existent. There are very few jobs out there today that can provide an absolute sense of security.This is why we believe that everyone should be an entrepreneur, if not full-time, then at least as a serious side-hustle.

If all we have to trade for survival is our time, that’s a really sad predicament to be in, and like Seth Godin says in his article, “If you own nothing but the next eight hours of your time for sale to the highest bidder, you may be disappointed in the bids you get.” There is nothing more empowering than creating something of your own, learning how to run it, controlling it, and experiencing money come in based on how hard you work and how much risk you’re willing to take.

Today, we take stock of what we own by looking at our assets in a whole new light. By the end of this episode, you’ll feel inspired and supported in your decision to start building something that you own, right now!

Key Points from This Episode:

•   The shift happening in today’s economy and how to secure your future within it.
•   Why owning your time does not provide the same security it did in the old economic model.
•   Discover the lessons entrepreneurship can teach you and why these are important right now.
•   Re-defining “assets” and what it really means to own them to propel your own business.
•   How to build and store a collection of unique assets that no one can take away from you.
•   A recap on capitalism and Marxism and why owning something is the only way to thrive.
•   Why now is the time to think about the reality of the economic system we’re living in.
•   Entrepreneurship as a path out of oppression for the historically under-represented.
•   The common excuses we make to avoid entrepreneurship and making that small start.
•   Choosing to make a change in your life, creating space, and taking small steps every day.
•   And much more!

Words of Wisdom:

“There’s no such thing as long-term stability, that doesn’t exist anymore. Your safety comes from being adaptable.”

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Namastream — https://namastream.com/

Seth Godin — https://seths.blog/

“What Do You Own?” by Seth Godin — https://seths.blog/2019/09/what-do-you-own/

Become an Online Teacher FREE Course— https://www.soulful.mba/teacher

Joy: FOREO LUNA mini 2 Facial Cleansing Brush — https://amzn.to/30jIsCc

Hustle: Beta Launch Lab Checklist — http://betalaunchlab.com/

As we move into Fall, we honestly cannot wait to get down to more serious work and slide right back into high productivity mode. This is traditionally the busiest time of year for us. School is starting again, colder weather and the end of the year is looming, and it’s time to sip coffee and get down to business. It's the season for more work and there is literally no better time to get down to launching your first, or your new, online offering.

These days, online courses have become akin to a business card and clients and students are increasingly coming to expect you to have some kind of dynamic online content. Online courses, membership sites, and group coaching programs can be an incredibly lucrative income stream.

In this episode, we lay out the main reasons why now is a better time than ever to get started, so put that fear of failure aside and let's get things rolling!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   It is the season of more work! We love getting down to things in fall!
•   Online teaching and using this service as your new business card.
•   Experiential interactions; the trends of web-based platforms.
•   Creating another source of income from your online space.
•   Building a reputation, multiple revenue streams, and a solid audience. 
•   It is so affordable to get online and start selling your expertise!
•   The ongoing puzzle and the success that constantly grows with time and effort.
•   The availability of cheap and amazingly useful tools for doing your thing! 
•   Taking action to get past your fear of failure and anxieties around starting.
•   Learning and laughing at your failures; the correlation between wins and losses.
•   Our signature beta launch formula and why it is easier than ever to get yourself out there.
•   The timeline for getting to a launch from where you are!
•   And much more!

Words of Wisdom:

“You need more than just a static presence on the internet, even social platforms are moving towards more experiential interaction.”

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Namastream — https://namastream.comBecome an Online Teacher Course — https://www.soulful.mba/teacher Kevin Kelly — https://kk.orgWireless Go — https://www.rode.com/wirelessgo Sweetwater Audio — https://www.sweetwater.com

Joy: EmmaClaireShop on Etsy — https://www.etsy.com/shop/EmmaClaireShop Hustle: Beta Launch Lab Checklist— http://betalaunchlab.com/

On this episode of the show, we talk about mindset triggers that may be holding you back from making the kind of money you’re looking to make online. This episode is an important next step in our Women and Money Series, where we share the tough-love lessons we’ve learned about our own mindset traps and how limiting beliefs can drastically affect your ability to make money.

We see these patterns, these excuses, these victim mentalities play out all the time online and in this episode, we take the opportunity to address the common thought patterns that get so many of us stuck in a rut. Here, we break down the Top 7 limiting beliefs/excuses we hear way too often:1. I can’t do what everyone else is doing.2. There’s so much free stuff out there...who’s going to pay for mine?3. Not embracing your inner salesperson.4. I won’t be able to figure it out.5. I’m not techie enough!6. Always telling old stories.7. I don’t really believe yoga teachers (or health coaches or spiritual teachers or personal trainers or ______ ) can make money.If any of these excuses ring true to you, we’re going to help you kick them to the curb!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Failure to launch: The two types of dreamers you don’t want to be.
•   Why you need to take action and take a chance on yourself.
•   The comparison game and how to finally stop playing it.
•   Why you should still charge a fair price even though everything already exists for free.
•   Discover how to embrace your inner salesperson.
•   How to actively start believing that you CAN do hard things.
•   Find out why your excuses about technology are not helpful.
•   A shout out to the softer skills: empathy, communication, compassion.
•   How to break the “belief ceiling” and stop telling yourself old stories.
•   The importance of writing a new story and acting on it every day.
•   The value of building a scalable teaching/coaching business online today.
•   And much more!

Words of Wisdom: 

“Keep your eyes on your own page and do the work.”

“Saying you’re ‘not technical’ is not a valid excuse. Of course you can do it.” 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Soulful MBA — https://www.soulful.mba/

Namastream — https://namastream.com/

Joy: TAXA Cricket — https://taxaoutdoors.com

Hustle: Apple Watch — https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-4/

“I wanted the business more than I was afraid of the fear of not being able to pay the debt back.”  - Lori Kennedy

Our current series on women and money has encouraged many of you to reflect on your own money stories. During this process, you may have uncovered beliefs that are preventing you from reaching your full potential and this series is meant to unshackle you from these restraints through the stories shared by other women who have experienced similar circumstances.

In today’s episode, you’ll get to hear more about Lori Kennedy’s money journey, including her bold sales goals, her belief in the importance of women starting businesses, and why she gets frustrated when she sees women holding themselves back as entrepreneurs.

Given her level of success today, you may be surprised to hear that Lori is “not good with numbers” and even failed high school math, but she is living proof that obstacles like these are possible to overcome. Once an overspender, she shares about learning to view money and debt as neutral and to remove emotion from the equation in growing her business.

Key Points from This Episode:

•   How Lori came into her role as an entrepreneur and being self-employed from a young age.
•   Discovering her purpose and how the journey helped her to become a better human being.
•   Growing up in an affluent home and always wanting to make her own money. 
•   Not understanding the value of money, compulsive shopping and getting into credit card debt.
•   What Lori has learned about the importance of paying attention to and tracking the numbers.
•   Cultivating a mindset where she has faith that everything will be ok.
•   An incident of running into a cash flow crisis, how she dealt with it, and what she learned.
•   Why she was not afraid of incurring debt to grow her business.
•   How defining what rock bottom looked like for her served her well from early on.
•   Where she starts the money conversation with the women she coaches.
•   Showing the reality of growth to people based on straightforward numbers.
•   Looking critically at how you spend your time and accepting the pre-revenue phase.
•   Getting beyond the conversation about money blocks.
•   Having her home professionally organized and the hustle of integrating a sales department.
•   And much more! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Namastream — https://namastream.com/

Soulful MBA’s Become an Online Teacher Course — https://www.soulful.mba/teacher

Connect with Lori:

Lori Kennedy on LinkedIn — https://ca.linkedin.com/in/lorikennedyinc

Lori Kennedy on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/lorikennedyinc/

Lori Kennedy on Twitter — https://twitter.com/lorikennedyinc

Take Your Health Practice Online Group — https://www.facebook.com/groups/takeyourhealthpracticeonline

The Business of Becoming Podcast — https://thewellnessbusinesshub.com/podcast/

Joy: hiring a professional organizer

Hustle: integrating a sales department

In this episode, we discuss the benefits of joining a group coaching program and explain why being part of one can help fast-track your company’s growth. We have both served as students and as mentors in group coaching programs and we have seen the power that comes from working in community.

We discuss the five key results we’ve observed within our Inner Circle community, from stress-free decision-making to feeling less isolated and more inspired. A group coaching program can also help you conserve your energy in order to allow you to focus on what’s really important to you.

Starting a business is not easy, but being uncomfortable is often where the magic happens. So why not step out of your comfort zone, while being supported and mentored by those who have been through it all before?

To learn more about the huge advantages of joining a group coaching program, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode: 

•   How groups help alleviate decision fatigue through mentorship and peer learning.
•   How being in a facilitated community can save you time—both long- and short-term.
•   How mentorship and support can help you to fast-track your growth, which leads to quicker financial freedom. 
•   How a sense of community helps keeps you motivated.

Words of Wisdom: 

“There is no right or wrong; there are just two decisions that reveal different outcomes. Make the decision, make it quick, and move on.” — Sandy Connery

“It’s going to be uncomfortable either way. Choose the brand of discomfort that’s going to give you the result you want.” — Jeni Barcelos 

Joy: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Hustle: On-demand Masterclass

Continuing with our women and money series, we are thrilled to share this recent interview with Claire Pelletreau—a Facebook Ads expert who runs a six-figure online business and hosts The Get Paid Podcast.

As you may infer from the name of her show, Claire loves to talk about all things money. Once a week, she sits down with entrepreneurs and asks them tough and very personal questions about their businesses. A standout from these episodes is her tradition of asking guests what they pay themselves—a question that most people would admit is quite uncomfortable.

In this episode, Claire shares insights about her own business journey and reveals what it’s like to ask her guests about money. We also get into why Claire believes paid ads are so important and how she manages her own success.

We absolutely love Claire's work and we both listen to EVERY episode of her show. It is so affirming and enlightening and we are grateful for her contribution to the broader money conversation. Enjoy the episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Asking the questions that no one seems to want to ask on a podcast.
•   How Claire started work as a freelancer while employed elsewhere.
•   Finding early guests for the podcast who were comfortable talking about money.
•   Why Claire still gets nervous asking what people pay themselves.
•   Unpacking a particular person's story and looking beyond a snapshot.
•   Claire's younger years, career dreams, and how she came into entrepreneurship.
•   Discovering money mindsets and how important this moment was for Claire's journey.
•   Claire's current money goals; why she is currently focussing on income over revenue.
•   Business scaling and why ads are so essential.
•   Claire's family, friends and social community; their reactions to her success.
•   The divide between online entrepreneurs and the rest of the world.
•   The most surprising elements of hosting a podcast about money. 
•   This week's top of mind question round with Claire!
•   Claire's joy and hustle recommendations.
•   And much more!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Become and Online Teacher — https://www.soulful.mba/teacher

Namastream — https://namastream.com/

Brooke Castillo — https://thelifecoachschool.com/

Brooke Castillo on The Get Paid Podcast — https://clairepells.com/63/

Nathan Barry — https://nathanbarry.com/

ConvertKit — https://convertkit.com/

Denise Duffield Thomas — https://denisedt.com/

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch — https://www.amazon.com/Get-Rich-Lucky-Bitch-Release-ebook/dp/B00BSG124I

Crazy Rich Asians — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16085481-crazy-rich-asians

Joy: Show Your Work Podcast — https://laineygossipentertainment.libsyn.com/

Hustle: Instagram + Facebook Ads

Connect with Claire

Claire Pelletreau — https://clairepells.com/

The Get Paid Podcast — https://clairepells.com/category/podcast/