Staying Solo | Business Strategy for Service Providers, Creatives and Consultants

There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves as entrepreneurs, but there's one, in particular, I hear time and time again from the people I work with:"I'm bad at sales."

Now, you may or may not be a gifted salesperson, But so much of how we think of sales is wrapped up in antiquated myths and a ton of BS about what we "should" and "shouldn't" do.

Add in a never-ending stream of courses and programs designed to sell us on someone's specific version of sales, and it's no surprise we have a hard time sorting through the confusion.

That's why In this episode, we break down BS myths and messages about sales calls and talk through some specific ways to make those calls that much simpler.

Get the inside scoop: smallbusinessboss.co/sales-myths

*Check out the first episode of Duped, season 2*

Stop us if you've heard these ones before -

"Make money while you sleep!"

"Never trade dollars for hours again!"

"Create it once and set it on autopilot!"

We all know celebrity entrepreneurs make BIG promises when selling us a course that teaches us how to create… another course.

But do courses actually live up to the hype? Are they the passive income dream they claim to be?

In this episode of Duped, we're looking at whether courses are a magical moneymaking dream or a bonafide business nightmare.

Find out more at duped.online

Does the idea of having to hand off work to other people make you break out in a cold sweat?Do you ever find yourself thinking "it will be faster if I just do it myself"?

*raises hand sheepishly*

The struggle is real, my friends.

As someone who has a somewhat challenging relationship with delegation, it's a muscle that I have to consciously work on building.

Thankfully, I've had someone guiding me along the way and giving me a gentle nudge when needed.That's why in this episode I sat down for a chat with leadership coach Bekka Prideaux to dive into the dynamics of delegation. We talk about how to improve your delegations skills, why delegation isn't just about having a team, and so much more.

Get the inside scoop right here: smallbusinessboss.co/dynamics-of-delegation

Despite how those FB ads make it look, running an agency and being the boss isn't all sitting back and watching the cash roll in while your team gets the job done.

No matter how much you *think* you know about what the reality is, like so much else in life, you don't know what you don't know until you're actually in the thick of it. That's why in this episode, I'm sharing 7 things I wish I knew before starting an agency, including a few things that may be unexpected.

Get the inside scoop right here: smallbusinessboss.co/before-starting-an-agency

Do you ever feel like you don't have enough hours in the day? Like you're already working too much but could still be doing more?

Then there's the fact that your services are in demand and you would take on even more work if you were able.

You WANT to grow your business, but driving yourself into the ground isn't a solid strategy.

Right about now, running the agency business model may seem like reeeeally good option.

But is it?

In this episode, we're diving into the ins and outs of the agency business model, to help you answer the question….is it right for you?

Get the inside scoop right here: smallbusinessboss.co/the-agency-model

You know those low cost products all over your social media feeds making big promises?

You may like them, or you may find them annoying, but there's a very specific strategy around them. And a lot of those strategies are a big problem from my point of view. So I got curious and bought 9 of these products to analyze them.

In this episode and essay, I'm sharing my findings from that analysis I did after spending $285 - the good, the bad and the really scammy. I'm doing the work so you don't have to, and then sharing what you need to know.

Get the inside scoop right here: smallbusinessboss.co/low-cost-offers

When you think about your values, it's probably pretty easy to list what matters to us personally.But what about your biz?

We've all done those exercises where we sit down and write out a mission or a vision statement, or define the values for our business. But all too often they just end up in a file folder and forgotten about while we carry on with getting our work done.How do we ensure the values we define are something we actually consider regularly?

In this episode, guest Danait Berhe shares how to put our business values into action.

Get the inside scoop: smallbusinessboss.co/business-values

Have you ever been talking to a potential client and they ask you what sort of results working with you will get them?

I have, and honestly, it always gets my back up a little.

Is it a valid question? Absolutely.

But in the online world, "results" are all too often tied directly to cold hard cash. People are selling the promise of making big money if you work with them or buy their system, and that's what we're being compared against.

So how do we have a nuanced conversation about results in a way that doesn't just focus on money?

In this episode, we're going to talk about how to rethink the role of results in our business, and how we untether from toxic narratives about what results really are.

Get the inside scoop right here: Smallbusinessboss.co/results-in-your-business

You know what's annoying?How much people in the online space crap on service businesses.

Celeb entrepreneurs are selling ways for us to get OUT of service businesses, with an understanding of an unspoken hierarchy where those who offer services are seen as less than those that focus on courses or programs.

This results in more and more people getting lured away from their service businesses and told that coaching-based group programs is the way to go.

But is it really?

In this episode, we're looking at the key differences between running a done-for-you service business, and one that offers coaching, including the hard numbers from my own experiences working in both models.

Get the inside scoop right here:

smallbusinessboss.co/business-models

Have you ever heard someone say that there's no money in services?

I have, and I strongly disagreed.

The service business model is one of the simplest around, and you can definitely make money — if you know what you're doing.

A service business doesn't have to be complicated, despite what you may have been told.

The reality is those celebrity entrepreneurs and inexperienced coaches — who like to tell us we NEED their fancy systems — overcomplicate things and create problems we don't actually have in an effort to sell us things.

In this episode, I'm sharing what you really need for your service business and how you simplify yours.

Get the inside scoop right here: smallbusinessboss.co/simplify-your-service-biz