Soulful MBA Podcast

This episode touches on our use of the word “guys” (and why it is so problematic). Usage of this term has seen a massive rise since the advent of the Internet, but it creates a subtle, yet troubling speech pattern for the plight of women. There is no gender-neutral, plural pronoun in the English language (unlike Spanish or German or a host of other languages), but choosing to default to an informal masculine plural pronoun is not the answer.

The language that we choose to use each and everyday matters; by opting to be lazy with our language, we add more fodder to an existing series of microaggressions against women.

According to Sherryl Kleinman, Professor Emeritus of  Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, “...women want to be included in the term that refers to the higher-status group: men. But while being labeled one of the guys might make women feel included, it’s only a guise of inclusion, not the reality. If women were really included we wouldn’t have to disappear into the word guys.” Amen, sister.

Other Mentions: Why Sexist Language Matters / The Problem With ‘Hey Guys’ / An unnecessarily long and surprisingly fascinating history of ‘guys’ 

Joy: Charlotte Walsh Likes to WinHustle: ZigZag Podcast

A cognition crisis is not defined by a lack of information, knowledge or skills. We have done a fine job in accumulating those and passing them along across millennia. Rather, this a crisis at the core of what makes us human: the dynamic interplay between our brain and our environment — the ever-present cycle between how we perceive our surroundings, integrate this information, and act upon it. - Adam Gazzaley

We were profoundly rocked this summer by Jaron Lanier’s new book: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, and this podcast episode explores the reasons why this book has had such an immense impact on each of us.

How does social media impact our access to economic dignity? What are the long-term implications of new technology? Why is the freemium model of social media so dangerous and why does the success of HBO and Netflix highlight what’s wrong with free software? What does social media and artificial intelligence have to do with religion and spirituality?

Other Mentions: The Cognition Crisis

Joy: Mary Robinson launches new feminist fight against climate changeHustle: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

This episode explores some recent news stories that have caught our attention, including articles that explore topics like facial recognition software, gender imbalance in journalism, and the ubiquity of product-placement ads in mainstream publications geared toward women. It’s all a bit heavy, isn’t it?

Joy: make something by hand

Hustle: NPR’s sexist blunder is proof that women’s work isn’t just overlooked—it’s erased / Women’s Media Is a Scam / How Facial Recognition Could Tear Us Apart / The Calmest iPhone Yet

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value of building a personal brand, even though this is a concept that makes the two of us a bit uncomfortable.

We’ve both been known to “hide” behind our corporate brand because we’re part of a larger team, but are we doing this at the expense of our future success?

There’s a feeling that many women share, that we need to have a doctorate (or more!) in a subject in order to speak publicly about it. But the truth we're realizing is, that in business, we each just need to show up fully as our imperfect selves.

Some great examples of personal brands we follow: Patricia Russo, Danielle LaPorte, Carmenspagnola, Elena Brower, Lisa Lister, Brené Brown.

Joy: How to Make Shrubs, Girl Meets Dirt Hustle: 2 Years From Now, If You Don’t Have A Personal Brand, Nobody Is Going To Work With You

Change is the only constant in life (and business). Here are a handful of interesting trends/shifts that we’ve been noticing over the past few months: 

• Email Marketing: The traditional advice in the online business space has been to grow your list and email your subscribers A LOT. The new trend we’re noticing? Email only when you have something of value to share. As the Internet has become more noisy, we need to be mindful about adding to the cacophony…

• Live Video: Part of showing up and embodying your brand these days involves live video. We don’t see this trend going away anytime soon, so we suggest becoming comfortable with this medium if you’re looking to grow your business online.

• Long-Form Blogging: Put out LESS content, but make it BETTER. It should be in-depth, comprehensive, and useful for your quintessential clients.

• Audio + Digital: The sweet spot of business (and modern culture) is increasingly the intermixing of digital and analog. Human connection PLUS (or via) tech. Passive income is getting harder and harder to come by, but digital offerings PLUS physical products and/or real human connection is HOT. (Plus, you can charge more money for this type of offering.)

Joy: The ShopkeepersHustle: Zoom

As a follow-up to Part 1 of our Online Coaching conversation, this episode reveals some specific tips for how to determine pricing for your live-streamed coaching sessions.

Let’s start with a huge and incredibly important DON’T: Never sell your services by the hour (or even by the session). Going this route means giving your clients total control of your process and an escape hatch if the work gets too tough. (Of course, you’d never want to trick your clients into purchasing more services than they need, but most clients need far more support than they realize.) One big breakthrough is not enough; they may feel done long before they actually are done.

What’s the alternative? Create packages of sessions. Doing this allows you to deliver real value to your clients, truly help them improve and develop, and embrace a business strategy that creates sustainable income for you as a coach.

Here are some rules of thumb for pricing your online coaching packages:

1. Keep it simple.
2. Offer at least three options / levels.
3. Know your audience.
4. Set a revenue goal and work backwards. (Check out our full blog post on this topic here for examples of calculating your own pricing.)

We’re bringing back Office Hours this week to discuss the practical tactics of how to take your in-person coaching practice online. It’s a little known fact that online one-on-one coaching sessions are often more reliable money-makers than courses or memberships!

Far too many entrepreneurs dive into launching an online course before they’re truly ready. And courses may seem like “passive” revenue streams, but they actually require some serious prep work and behind-the-scenes management.

One-on-one online consults, on the other hand, are the perfect way to build both revenue and clout while offering valuable services to eager clients. You may want to eventually build a course, but starting with online coaching sessions can help you build the foundation you’ll need to make that future online course a massive success.

Need more reasons to take the live-streaming route right now for your coaching business? Here you go:

• Private online coaching requires virtually no prep. Unlike pre-taped videos, classes, and courses, you can work with a client in any tidy, relatively well-lit room. And as soon as you hit the live-stream button, you’re ready to rock.
• Online client consults help you build your fan base while earning money. Cultivate meaningful relationships with your students, bring in revenue, and develop your impeccable reputation all at once!
• One-on-one live-streamed sessions allow you to hone your craft. Refine your content and coaching style by working one-on-one with clients. Spend a year or so learning about your clients’ common questions, problems, or issues through individual sessions. That way, when you’re ready to build a group program or course, you can tailor it to address their specific needs.
• Virtual coaching saves you time. Coaching in person is a great way to build rapport, but often means commuting to an office, a studio, or the client’s home. Online sessions allow you to save travel time and therefore book more sessions per day (or take some much-needed time off).
• Private online coaching creates instant boundaries. Many teachers have told us that they struggle to end their in-person sessions diplomatically. People love to stand around and chat once the work is done, even if the coach has a mountain of other work to tackle. Live-streamed sessions mean clicking off when you’re done without any drawn-out goodbyes.

In Part 2 (which comes out next week), you’ll learn about how to price and package your online coaching sessions. Stay tuned!

We’ve been collecting some of our favorite resources to share with you this summer, including our newest Instagram favorites, some powerful, yet simple, tech tools to try out, our favorite new podcasts, and some bonus online shops that we recommend you check out.

Favorite Instagram Accounts

Sandy: @helloplantlady / @knitatude / @thehellyeslifeJeni: @accidentallywesanderson / @riseandwander / @ritual_botanicaBusiness + Tech Resources

Sandy: CutStory for Instagram StoriesJeni: DuckDuckGo Chrome Extension

Podcasts We’re Crushing On

Sandy: Call Your Girlfriend / Ear HustleJeni: Werk It: The Podcast 

Online ShopsSandy: Piece on Peace / RMS BeautyJeni: Primary Children’s Clothing

“The fitness industry needs this invitation towards embodiment.” - Brooke Tyler

In this episode of the podcast, we interview powerhouse Namastream client Brooke Tyler about her experience growing her Asheville, NC-based acupuncture and pilates studio online.

After growing her local studio and clinical business to a 4,000+ ft location with twelve employees, you’ll learn why Brooke chose to pursue the online growth path (rather than opening up an additional studio location).

Brooke discusses her decision to incorporate seasonality into her online program, how she balances single motherhood with her business, and the specific way that she schedules her time each week and month to fit everything in. 

Connect with Brooke: Clasique Acupuncture & Pilates Studio / Core Self Online / Instagram 1, 2, 3

Other Mentions: Dorothee VandeWalle

Joy: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life / You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth Hustle: blank journal + favorite pens

In this episode, we interview beloved Namastream client, Nikiki Estrada, about her transition to online business.

Nikki, who lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters, has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has been leading 200- and 300-hour teaching trainings for more than a dozen years. She is YA500hr E-RYT and was Director of Trainer Development for YogaWorks for more than 7 years, where she supported and mentored teacher trainers. She leads intensives, immersions, and workshop series in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

In addition to offering her own yoga membership on Namastream, Nikki contributes to Yoga International, served as a 2016 Athleta Ambassador (for embodying the Power of She), was sponsored by Zobha, has presented at Yoga Journal conferences, and was voted best yoga teacher by Marin Magazine in 2016.

In our conversation, Nikki shares her opinion on the relationship between yoga and tech and offers tactical insight for building a thriving virtual studio.

Connect with Nikki: Nikki Estrada Yoga / Instagram / Nikki’s Membership on Namastream

Joy: look into your Dosha / Ayurveda by Siva / Monica Yearwood / Mark HalpernHustle: How I Built This Podcast