We’ve been told for years that creating an “ideal customer avatar” is the best way to understand your audience. But the truth is that’s just guessing on your part. Do you know how you actually get to understand your customers? Have customers! Talk to them, and then write content for them. That’s what Will Shultz recommends. And as a Sales and Marketing coach, he knows a thing or two.

Top Takeaways:

• You need someone in-house to make your content. That’s how you’ll create great content that shows a deep understanding of your customer and their journey.
• If you’re having trouble coming up with content, take what you’re creating for a specific client and generalize it. That way, you’ve written for someone. Chances are there are similar folks out there.
• Don’t worry about giving too much away for free. You differentiate yourself by becoming trusted and valued. You do that by showing people you deeply understand their problems.

Show Notes:

• Will Shultz
• Will on Linkedin
• Free Virtual Consulting Sessions
• Upgrade 438
• Join the Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Paid Memberships Pro | Ahrefs | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

I know what you’re thinking. Budgets? That’s what you’re going to base your entire year on.

I know this because that’s what my wife said. But fear not, my friends. Like Transformers™, it’s more than meets the eye.

Show Notes:

• My 2023 Yearly Theme 
• Cortex Podcast
• Join the Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Paid Memberships Pro | Ahrefs | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

Earlier this year, Amazon announced the Kindle Scribe -- their competitor to the reMarkable 2. It's more affordable, they had an initial deal for Prime members, and a good trade-in price for my Kindle Oasis. SO the $500 device got down to $238. I bought it. Here are my initial impressions. 

Show Notes

• Kindle Scribe
•  reMarkable 2
• Read my initial thoughts 
• Want to see a video demo? Join How I Built It Pro

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

The show is on break, but that's not preventing me from adding a bonus episode or two! It's no secret I love automation, and invariably those automations spill out into my personal life. I view the holidays as a great opportunity to flex some home automation muscles. Here's what I did, what I use, and some improvements. 

In the PRO show, I get into the gory details, share my shortcuts, and talk about Matter and the future of home automation. 

Show Notes

• Become a PRO member
• Phillips Hue Color Bulbs
• Phillips Hue Play Color Smart Lights
• Phillips Hue Go
• Phillips Hue Light Strips
• Meros Smart Plugs
• Meros Outdoor Smart Plug
• Wemo Smart Plug

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

It’s the time of the year were small business owners and creators have some extra time to tinker with (or fully redesign) their websites. I’m here with Copywriter Ame Proietti to tell you to skip the new design and focus on the copy instead. We get into what makes good copy, blog posts vs. sales copy, and we finish out with how to write good scripts. As you prepare for 2023, good copy will be at the heart of what you do thanks to Ame’s advice. Plus, in the Pro show, we broke down the sales page Ame wrote for me.

Top Takeaways:

• Where blog posts are meant to share and educate, copywriting is meant to convince people to take an action. Ame calls it “assembling” words and sections in the best way for your target audience
• To get the best copy, you need to talk to customers. Ame recommends interviewing 3 customers and gathering testimonials to learn how you people and the language they use, which you can then mirror in your copy.
• Bringing in someone else can help you get the best results. They are objective and don’t know what you know. They’ll also the right questions and allow you to gain a better understanding of your offer too.

Show Notes:

• Ame Proietti
• Ame on Twitter
• Ame on Linkedin
• How To Build a $1000/year Membership with Jay Clouse
• Don't Make Me Think
• Join Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Ahrefs | TextExpander | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

It’s a good old fashioned podcast swap with Good People, Cool Things! I really enjoy this show, and the interview we have queued up for you is great.

This is a conversation with Jessi Burg, who started Outgrow Your Garage so she could answer the questions and develop the resources for small business owners that she wished she had when starting out as a business owner. Some of the top highlights include how to overcome common struggles for business owners, the benefits of online courses, and why she encourages an airing of grievances among employees. Be sure to stick around until the end for a good question and a corny joke!

In Build Something More, I give you a behind-the-scenes look on how this happened, and the future of the members-only part of this podcast (don’t worry. It’s not going away).

Show Notes

• Good People, Cool Things
• Ways to Grow Your Small Business with Jessi Burg
• Podcast Swaps Grew My Show by 21%

Sponsored by: Ahrefs

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

How I Built Bits is back, and better than ever! The focus on the show moving forward will be highlighting helpful tools and processes for creators to run a better business. And I'm excited that the first episode is presented by Groundhogg.

Groundhogg is an open-source CRM & Marketing Automation suite for serious agencies, small businesses, content creators, eCommerce experts, and WordPress professionals. Let's take a deep dive into what it is, how it works, and why it could be perfect for your creator business!

Show Notes

• Get Groundhogg (20% off with code HOWIBUILTIT)
• Interview with Adrian Tobey

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

With the Podcast Liftoff Playbook out, and Jennifer Bourn’s Profitable Project Plan is open for enrollment right now, I thought it would be a great time to re-air her interview where she talks about running a cohort-based course, and how she built the PPP. I listened to it again as I was looking for inspiration and best practices to realize the Playbook fully. And let me tell you, this episode really holds up! For members, I talk about how my webinar → paid members sales to funnel went.

Top Takeaways:

• Online courses are NOT passive income. If you want your course to be successful, you need to evolve it.
• Offering a PRO version was a big mistake for Jen because people bought the non-Pro version and tried to get the Pro benefits. The lesson has one offer OR makes the Pro benefits totally different.
• Running live workshop events are a great way to add accountability and more value to your self-paced courses. You're ensuring your students take action now, instead of procrastinating.

Show Notes:

• Jennifer Bourn
• Jennifer on Twitter
• Profitable Project Plan
• Content Camp
• Jennifer Bourn and Profitable Project Plan
• Company of One
• Introduction to the Block Editor
• 2021: The Year of Opportunity
• Join the Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Nexcess | Ahrefs | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

In May, I was at a bit of a crossroads. I wasn't sure what I should do with the many things I was working on, and I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions. I couldn't focus on one thing to help take my business to the next level. So I decided to focus on Podcasting. The path from them to now lead me to cutting away a lot of projects (including projects I like doing), all in the service of growing my business. And the centerpiece: my brand new Podcast Liftoff Playbook. 

So today, we're getting back to the roots of the show, and I'm going to tell you how I built this hybrid membership/course site. 

Top Takeaways 

• Think about what your MVP is. Don't spend too much time thinking of every possibility for a new project. You'll never launch. Instead, launch quickly, and get feedback. 
• Don't answer questions people aren't asking. I could have added in a bunch of features I thought were cool, but they would have delayed launch, and frankly, as far as I knew, no one would use them. 
• Spend more time marketing than building something new. Get in front of new audiences and explain the problem your new project solves for them. 

Show Notes

• Special offer on the Playbook
• Playbook Walkthrough
• PaidMembershipsPro
• Kadence
• ConvertKit
• SearchWP

Sponsored by: Nexcess | Ahrefs | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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

We must make content to serve the almighty algorithm to make money on YouTube, right? Wrong! Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve heard from creators who are doing a video that works for them — and today’s guest is no different. Hannah Smolinski is a Fractional CFO who grew her YouTube channel to 38,000 subscribers and doesn’t pay attention to analytics. Instead, she answers questions her target audience has, is generous with her time and her knowledge, and knows it’s all about the long game, not getting rich quickly.

Top Takeaways:

• Don’t make money for Adsense. It’s too unpredictable. Instead, create good content and get people to know, like, and trust you.
• Doing videos on free resources helps get people onto your list. From there, you can continue to provide value, promote new videos, and form relationships with potential customers.
• The beautiful thing about consulting and YouTube: it allows people to really warm up to you. Hannah says most of her calls are with people who are already ready to hire her thanks to YouTube.

Show Notes:

• Hannah Smolinski
• Hannah on YouTube
• Hannah on Facebook
• Hannah on Instagram
• Hannah on Linkedin
• Hannah on Tiktok
• Join the Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Nexcess | Ahrefs | LearnDash

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Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back.

Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health.

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. https://streamlined.fm/quiz 

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