Strategy for Creatives - Business Minus the Bullshit: Business Tips for Creative Entrepreneurs

This is the year we scale our businesses! I'm on the scaling journey too so I wanted to have a conversation with someone who has scaled their own business successfully to find out the keys to effectively scale. In this episode I'm talking with Jan Cavelle,  ex entrepreneur, author, and writer on starts ups, scale ups, and together we're breaking down the key things that actually help your business grow.

Jan is a semi-retired entrepreneur from the UK who has a few decades of running micro and small businesses behind her.  She is very familiar with all the challenges that go with that, having started one from the kitchen table when her children were small and she was a single mother, to go on to build that into a multi-million turnover business. She has a passion for supporting entrepreneurs and after many years of writing articles, is now an author.

Start for Success aims to help and encourage every aspiring and early-stage entrepreneur plan and reach their dream of a successful business.

Scale for Success discusses the big leap between $1 million to $10 million and shares the stories of entrepreneurs across the globe giving practical advice and guidance that you can take away and apply in your own business.

Learn more about The Strategic CEO group program and get a free Strategy Session to learn how to grow to consistent $5k months at www.by-sasha.com/the-strategic-ceo

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.  

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Let 2023 be the year we finally get our business money right! I get it. It's hard to figure out how you should be managing your money when it comes to your business. But knowing your financials can give you so much insight into how you can better equip your business for success. In this episode, I'm joined by Michelle Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Consulting, to talk about the dos and don't of getting your business finances ready for the new year.

Michelle is an expert in all things business, finances, and growth. Before starting Mitchell Consulting, she spent 10 years working in corporate finances wishing she had the freedom to use her expertise and skills in a way that aligned with her passion and allowed her to be present in the rest of her life. She started Mitchell Consulting and never looked back! Michelle loves to coach and educate professional women who feel stuck and overwhelmed. Her genuine desire to see women succeed compels her to deliver expert advice and actionable information in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner. 

Book a free consultation with Michelle to determine the factors holding your business back from financial growth here.

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.  

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Statistically speaking, it can cost five times more to get a new client than to retain an existing customer. When we can keep existing clients in our business (even just by 5%) profits can increase up to 95% for some businesses! It's easier to sell to our existing clients too. The success rate of selling to a client you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.* In this episode, I'm joined by  Mané Bailey-Sargsyan to have a conversation about ways we can improve client loyalty through creating a customer experience that leaves clients loving our brands.

Mane was born and raised in Armenia and then later immigrated to the US. She's built a seven-figure business from the ground up and is the founder and CEO of four boutique companies. Inspired by her mom, Mané’s personal mission is to help women have access to the resources, expertise, and support they need to grow their businesses and to continue to break glass ceilings for women everywhere. Mané is also a founder of an influencer marketing agency focused on digital marketing, creator activations for brands, and talent booking.

Find resources and  POV articles about money, entrepreneurship, business development, and more at https://www.stationrove.com/blog.

* Source: Elm Street Outbound Engine

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.  

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When you think of e-commerce, you're probably picturing something like Amazon. If you're not selling products, you might not even think e-commerce is something you need. But even for us service-based businesses, having an e-commerce piece on our websites to sell things like digital downloads or occasional product offerings can help diversify where our income is coming from and boost our overall sales.  In this episode, I'm talking with Kathryn Smith, an e-commerce expert, on how e-commerce can help boost your business.

Kathryn is Principal Consultant at Walton Birch, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, and co-founder of the Black Lady Business School, a networking and professional organization for women. She is an eCommerce expert, a Shopify super-fan, and Partner and she helps small businesses and entrepreneurs to launch and grow e-commerce stores.

 Visit my waltonbirch.com/  for DIY-friendly marketing resources or to schedule a discovery call with Kathryn.

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.       

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Back in the early 2000s blogging was a whole business and those that jumped in early were able to make good money. Nowadays while blogging is a good business practice in general, it can be a challenge to make a sustainable income from blogging. Many times, blogging is only one piece of a business's income stream.  In this episode, I'm talking with guest  Sadie Smiley about how to be successful in blogging and how to create different income streams to help boost your business.

 Sadie is the founder of Passive Income Pathways, a financially-accessible coaching membership that teaches people how to turn their blogs into six-figure businesses. She is a philanthropist who lives in Mexico with her husband, Kevin. She absolutely LOVES helping people get out of their own way, get unstuck, and drop the BS to achieve their financial goals and dreams!

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.       

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Email is still King (or Queen) when it comes to marketing. Yes, social media should play a part in your marketing game plan, but if you're not building and utilizing an email list, you're doing your business a major disservice. In this episode, I'm talking to Kendra Swalls, owner of Girl Means Business, about how to grow an email list and why it still matters that you have one.

Kendra is a mom of 2, a photographer, and an educator. In 2012 she started her first business, Paisley Layne Photography, and everything changed. What started as a hobby alongside her teaching career quickly turned into a successful business. In 2017 she left her teaching career behind to run her photography business and start the Girl Means Business brand + podcast.  Now she helps women, like you, take their business from survival mode to success-mode using the same relationship marketing strategies that have been the foundations for her business success.

One of the best ways to grow your business is with email marketing. If you are brand new to email, this Email Starter Kit will walk you through the 4 steps to get started, along with templates for creating your first lead magnet and welcome series.

https://girlmeansbusiness.com/emailkit

Episode Transcript

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.      

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Do you know the difference between marketing and PR (aka Public Relations)? Small businesses often don't think PR is something that can be used to grow their brands but it can actually be a valuable tool to have in your marketing toolbox. In this episode, I'm talking to Lauren Cockerell,  President of Kwedar & Co., a PR & marketing firm, about how you can integrate PR into your business and the easy steps you can take to use PR to help grow your business.

 Lauren is President of Kwedar & Co., a PR/marketing firm that provides the strategy and execution business owners need to achieve balance and sustainably take their businesses to the next level. As a one-stop shop for strategic communications, we help entrepreneurs enjoy growing their businesses and feel confident in the direction they’re headed.

Lauren is also the Board Chair of the Foundation for the Young Women's Leadership Academy of Fort Worth, empowering the next generation of women leaders.

Visit www.kwedarco.com/book-consultation for a free consultation to see if Lauren can help your business scale and grow.

Episode Transcript

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.     

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network

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Did you know that you can have other people create content for you for free?! You probably haven't heard of user-generated content, but it's one of the best ways to have others market your business and give you content for your website and social media.  In this episode, I'm talking to Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox Community, about why your website is way more valuable than your social media and how user-generated content can help you market your business through the words of others.

After spending too many years in Corporate America, Lorraine said goodbye to the bureaucracy, glass ceilings, and bad coffee and followed her passion to help small business owners succeed. Today, this successful entrepreneur, author, professional speaker, and host of a weekly marketing podcast, More than a Few Words, bring creative ideas, practical tips, and decades of real-world experience to every conversation.

As the founder of the Digital Toolbox Community, she helps business owners use internet marketing to grow. And in her spare time, she loves to travel, and take photos.

Digital Toolbox is an online marketing community for business owners.  Filled with tools, tips, training programs, and real-time discussions you will find the answers to all your digital marketing questions.

Episode Transcript

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network      

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.     

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trying to figure out the right marketing strategy can be a challenge for even the most seasoned business owner. How do you know what platforms you need to be on? Is it worth it to invest in a website? Are you even speaking to your target audience? I've worked with many clients who struggle with how to market their businesses effectively. In this episode, I'm discussing five marketing mistakes you're probably making, and what you should be doing instead.

Episode Transcript

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network      

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.    

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Social media is one of the biggest ways to market your business. But it's an ever-changing thing that can be hard to keep up with and even hard to figure out if it's working for you. One of the best investments you can make for your business is hiring a social media manager. Social media managers are specialists in getting your social media to work for your business and turning followers into paid clients and customers. In this episode, I'm talking about how to know whether it's time to hire out this crucial business role.

Episode Transcript

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network      

Go to https://betterhelp.com/strategy for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help.   

Part of the Boundless Audio Podcast Network

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.