Streamlined Solopreneur: Easy Productivity & Tech Systems for Solopreneurs

Social media advice these days reminds me a bit of the parable of the Emperor with no Clothes. See, it's easy for anyone to display how smart and successful they are. They say things like, "Here's your content strategy for 2024: Post three times on X daily, post one thread on X daily. Create three LinkedIn posts per day and one LinkedIn carousel per week." 

People read that and think, "That's easy to understand," without realizing that just posting content is not a strategy at all. 

I often think about how people perceive me and my show because I consider myself a successful podcaster. But I also feel conflicted – I don't feel I've done a good job of leveraging this show to grow my audience. So, I've decided to have my friend, Zach Swinehart, come on to talk about how I can improve my conversions for this show.

However, it almost feels a bit like the emperor has no clothes. Am I putting myself out there? Am I letting myself be too vulnerable? I guess you’re about to find out.

Top Takeaways

• When it comes to determining your lead magnet, you should test a few to see which resonates.
• When you're testing calls to action or lead magnets in a podcast, you should try a few different spots with a few different links.
• Know who you're talking to and try to understand your audience by looking at their pain points and objections.

Show Notes

• Double Your Email List Growth Rate in 29 minutes
• Check out the full interview over on Zach's podcast, Full Time Creator
• Personalization is the Path Forward with Brennan Dunn

Sponsored by: Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

How much help is too much help? When do you go from the actual worker to the visionary? And where does AI fit into all of this? Over on LinkedIn, I said using AI to write your book is like using a car to run a marathon. 

People took issue with that. So my friend Alastair MeDermott and I decided to have a good old fashioned debate. 

You’ll hear a nuanced discussion around:

• How to think about AI assistance in writing and content creation
• Where AI can help versus replace in the creative process
• How iterative prompting can shape the AI output
• Whether AI will ever replicate truly original human ideas
• The importance of the human editorial eye in approving AI-generated content
• What we potentially stand to lose in fully outsourcing creative work to machines

If you’re feeling uncertain about how to responsibly and effectively leverage AI tools like ChatGPT in your business and content creation, don’t miss this lively exchange of perspectives. Tune in now to help shape your own ethical framework.

Check out Alastair's podcast over at https://therecognizedauthority.com/ 

————
Streamlined Solopreneur helps solopreneurs stop doing it all themselves, with simple systems that give them their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without having to make another decision, hire employees, or sell your soul to AI.

Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it (so YOU don't need to make another decision). https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Imagine making $70,000…from your bedroom…in one night. 

That’s exactly what Matt “Dappz” McGuckin did with his online trading cards shop. He got his start “breaking” – that is, buying and opening boxes of cards live online, and selling the contents…all on TikTok. 

Sounds risky? It is! But today, Dappz Sports is the Live Shopping Company on TikTok in the U.S., making over $20 Million in gross sales. So the risks have paid off. 

Now maybe it seems like too far-fetched to say you’ll make $70K in one night, but it’s not too far-fetched to say that making calculated risks will elevate your business. 

It’s a proven strategy and Dappz, and today, he’s going to tell you how you can do it too. 

Top Takeaways

• Don’t try to think about how you’ll go viral. Instead, be consistent and try different things. Experimenting can be low-stakes risk-taking. 
• One of the biggest risks that pay off is hiring someone. They will take SO much off your plate. It sounds scary, but it’s a must for any business owner. 
• Research is SO important with it comes to mitigating risk – remember, this is about calculated risks, not being a cowboy, and doing crazy stuff to see if it pays off. 

Show Notes

• Matt "Dappz" McGuckin
• Matt on Tiktok
• The Social Dilemma on Netflix

Sponsored by: Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Over the years, I’ve published a great many gift guides on my blog. From freelancers, to podcasters, to working from home, and even my hobbies — like pens and cigars. And this year is no different.

But given my relatively new focus on helping solopreneurs (and the fact that the “Work from Home” guide is starting to feel a little stale), I’ve decided to change things up in 2023.

That's why this year, I'm introducing the Solopreneur's Gift Guide. Enjoy! 

Links

• The 2023 Solopreneur's Gift Guide
• View on Casabona.org

Recording / Video Conference Gear

• Elgato Facecam
• Elgato Facecam Pro
• Live Stream kit
• Samson Q2U 
• Sennheiser PC 8 USB Headset
•  Podcaster’s Gift Guide
• Hue Lights
• Elgato Key Light | Key Light Air
• Neewer 2 Pack
• Lume Cube for Video Conferencing

Home Office

• Steelcase 
• HON Chairs
• Roller Blade Wheels for Office Chairs
• Jarvis by Fully
• E7 by FlexiSpot
• Moft Sit-Stand Laptop Desk
• Twelve South
• Logitech MX Master 3
•  Keycron K2 Pro Mechanical Keyboard
• Ergonomic keyboard from Microsoft
• Monitor Arm by Fully

At Home Tech

• Western Digital My Book  
• Backblaze
• Synology 2 Bay Storage NAS +  some hard drives
• Western Digital Portable Hard Drive
• Samsung’s T7 portable SSD
• AirPods Pro II
• Skullcandy headphones
•  Bose QuietComfort 45 Noise Cancelling headphones
•  Audio-Technica ATH-M50s
• Stream Deck 
• GaNPrime Hybrid Power Bank / Wall Charger
• MagSafe 3-in-1 Charging Cube (perfect for travel)
• Nano USB-C Power Bank
• Stands by Lab22

Productivity

• Sidekick Notebook
• Sidekick Notepad
• William Hannah A5 Classic Notebook
• Check out my Pen guide
• Analog from Ugmonk
• Todoist
• MindNode  
• Bear
• Ulysses
• App Store Gift Card 
• Setapp

Comforts of Home

• Cometeer
• Kru Doomcup
• Reading Jazzy Java
• Rook Nicaragua
• Nespresso
• OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
• Mahabis Slippers

Travel / Outside the House

• WaterField Designs 
• Sling bag from Nomatic
• Timbuk2.
• Kindle Scribe
• AirTags
• AirFly by Twelve South
• At Your Best
• Forget the Funnel
• This is Personal
• Made to Stick

Sponsored by:

• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Do you remember the most awkward moments of your life? One for me was definitely the day I was defending my master’s thesis. I was explaining a complex algorithm, when my advisor interrupted me and said, “Well…that’s not really how it works.”  In front of my classmates, other faculty, and a number of friends who showed up out of support.

As you can imagine, I was mortified – until recovered, finished the presentation, and said, If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Unless it’s about that one algorithm. They you can ask Dr. Bishop.” 

That got laughs, and I finished strong. I learned an important lesson that day: awkwardness will happen. It’s how you handle it that has a lasting effect. And that’s exactly what Dr. Henna Pryor is going to talk about with us today. She’s a keynote speaker, and her best-selling book, Good Awkward, came out in September with endorsements from people like NFL Quarterback Russell Wilson. 

Top Takeaways

• We are living in a society that increasingly doesn’t need to use its “social skills” muscle. We don’t have to interact with as many people, and it’s making us feel worse. 
• Awkward goes hand-in-hand with uncertainty. That means if you never want to feel awkward, you’ll never grow. 
• In order to embrace uncertainty, and therefore awkwardness, we need to create more situations to “practice” than the current world gives us. 

Show Notes

• Henna Pryor
• Henna Pryor Book
• Henna on Linkedin
• Henna on Instagram
• How to Stand Out When Everything is Competing for Attention with Steve Woodruff

Sponsored by: Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

A family walks into a talent agency, and says, “Have we got the act for you…”

If you’re familiar with this opening to a joke, you may have had a visceral reaction to it — either you think it’s hysterically funny, shamefully disgusting, or both. It’s the opening to the joke, The Aristocrats, and if you have a weak stomach, I don’t suggest you look it up.

See, the point of this joke isn’t actually the punchline, which is right in the title. The point is to see how long you can improv a shocking, disgusting, offensive story.

You can think about it as a secret handshake among comedians, that became not so secret after a 2005 documentary came out about it.

It going me thinking about the importance of telling a story.

This week, I got to speak to my friend Nick Benson’s college classes about Digital Storytelling.

Don’t worry, I didn’t tell The Aristocrats.

Instead, I spoke to them about why storytelling is so important in any content you create, especially podcasting.

Read the article here: https://podcastliftoff.com/podcast-storytelling/ 

Sponsored by:

• Lulu: Sign up for free today and sell your book.
• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

In a way, the chaotic start to our interview, followed by a calm, cool conversation, is a metaphor for Jordan’s business journey this year. 

See, this isn’t just a story about how to hire good people for your business. It’s a cautionary tale, and proof that running a business is about always learning and adjusting. 

Jordan runs an agency of high-level remote assistants. 

Today, she’s telling us her own trials and tribulations with making what seemed to be the right hiring call but ended up plunging her business into a few chaotic months. 

Don’t worry though, through patience and vigilance, she came out on the other side in a much better position. Plus, in the PRO show, we talk about what she’s doing for me…and why she’s contributed to me potentially leaving Airtable for Notion.

Top Takeaways

• You need to share your mission with your team early on. This ensures that you’re both aligned on the same values – which will form a stronger bond than a paycheck. 
• Know when to communicate. Jordan saw that through hiring contractors, they were taking on too much, and as a result, the quality of their work slipped. Clear communication could have prevented the worst outcome for her: loss of clients. 
• Know when to cut ties. Jordan saw that for her agency, a contractor relationship would not work. So she pivoted and decided to hire full-time employees instead. It took several months to find the right fit, but she’s happy she didn’t rush into the decision. 
• When you do bring on new employees, make sure to have a rock-solid, hands-on training program. This will allow them to start learning and doing, from day 1.

Show Notes

• Jordan Eaton

Sponsored by: Lulu | Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Lulu: Sign up for free today and sell your book.
• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

It's podcast swap time! Except I'm telling you about another podcast of mine: Podcast Workflows. It's a daily podcast that focuses on how to help podcasters improve their processes. Every Wednesday, I do a deep dive into someone's process, and that's what I'm bringing you today.

Learn more at https://show.podcastworkflows.com/

Arielle Nissenblatt eats, sleeps, and breathes podcasts.

• Her main job is with a podcast company.
• Her newsletter is all about podcast curation.
• She runs a podcast community on Discord.

She loves podcasts so much that she, along with her co-host Tim Villegas, produce a podcast about podcasts. Well really, about podcast trailers specifically. It’s called Trailer Park.

You might think that this is too niche, but they got 10,000 downloads in just a few weeks. Their outreach process was crucial to achieving that goal. Read on to learn how they did it.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why a super-niche podcast is the path to success
• Spending some time in the edit can greatly enhance your show
• Pitching and direct outreach is still the best way to grow your podcast

Read the full article here: https://podcastworkflows.com/trailer-park-podcast/

————
Streamlined Solopreneur helps solopreneurs stop doing it all themselves, with simple systems that give them their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without having to make another decision, hire employees, or sell your soul to AI.

Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it (so YOU don't need to make another decision). https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

If I wanted to cater to the current algorithm gods, I’d probably talk about how this interview is all about what AI can and cannot do for us. But it’s so much more than that. 

Much like the problem with leveraging AI to do all of the heavy lifting, me positioning this episode as “about AI,” would be inauthentic. And authenticity…well that’s really what this episode is about. 

Tom Schwab is someone who believes at his core that you’re just One Conversation Away from a profitable…and perhaps quite successful…business. So that’s what he helps people do. He helps them have conversations. 

And today, you’re going to learn how to get better at having the right conversations, as well as how to leverage those conversations to build your authority…authentically. 

Plus in the PRO show, Tom and I exchange podcast interview horror stories!

Top Takeaways

• Marketing is starting a conversation with someone who could be a great customer. But before you can do that, you need to get clear on what you do, and who you do it for. Obscurity is bad for business. 
• When you go on podcasts, you’re having a conversation with potentially lots of people. This means you need to show up, be present, and make the host look like a genius for having you on! 
• Go for quality over quantity. When I asked Tom about how to get on more podcasts he said, “More is not better. Better is better.” So use your time wisely, and show up fully for the listeners.

Show Notes

• Tom Schwab

Sponsored by: Lulu | Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Lulu: Sign up for free today and sell your book.
• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Did you know that Netflix is also a gaming platform now? That Apple make TV shows? That Disney own a number of YouTube channels without the Disney branding? It’s because they know what Steve Woodruff knows. 

If you’re a podcaster, you might think the competition is other podcasters. If you make movies, you might think the competition is another movie. You’d be wrong. 

See, what Netflix, Apple, Disney, and Steve know, is that the competition is everything. People are assaulted every day by stimuli, and if you want to cut through all of the noise, you need to stand out by being an effective communication designer. And there’s no better person to tell us how to do that than the King of Clarity himself. 

Plus, in the PRO show, we talk about using AI to write books, and Steve’s process for writing his latest book, The Point. 

Top Takeaways

• The average American spends 7-10 hours per day in front of a screen. On top of that, we see 4,000-10,000 ads every day. In other words, there is a lot of stuff competing for our attention. 
• You want to be pigeonholed! Instead of an “Elevator Pitch,” which sounds stuff and outdated, Steve prefers the term “Memory Dart.” What’s one sentence you can say to people so they know exactly what you do? 
• If you’re not communicating clearly to an outsider, you’re not communicating clearly. You want to make sure your copy (website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter) makes sense to people who don’t know your work well.

Show Notes

• Steve Woodruff
• Steve in Linkedin
• Want to be a Better Speaker? Do THESE Things with Mike Pacchione
• Clarity Wins Book
• You’re Writing Your Business Book Wrong with Josh Bernoff

Sponsored by:  Hostinger | Lulu | Sensei

Sponsored by:

• Hostinger: Get 10% off + 2 months free with code BUILD
• Lulu: Sign up for free today and sell your book.
• Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONA

————
Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. 

Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweep

If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/