The Business Bitch Podcast

In this episode, Jeremy Enns, founder of Counterweight Creative walks us through how he went from being a one-man show (essentially a freelancer) to having a business large enough to support a team of 12. (And growing!)

He talks about how he had to invest the time into creating systems before he had the team members to fill those systems... but also how rewarding it's been to see his business grow because of it. He also talks about striking the boss/friend balance with the people you hire, and making sure they show up ready to work hard for what you hire them to do.

Speaking as someone who's tried this model, I can tell you: it's no easy task, and I'm hella impressed that he's managed to do such a great job at it. So make sure you listen to the advice he shares on the topic, because it's incredible. I learned a ton.

We also touch on what it takes to grow a podcast, since podcasting is his area of expertise, and the advice is incredible.

• How & why he started Counterweight Creative.
• The audio production company he started 9 years ago
• The life of an unpaid, big-studio intern & how this skills he learned translated into podcasting
• Starting his side-gig while he was a student & had a full-time job
• Learning how to be location independent with his work - at first through trying a photography blog.
• When he quit his job 3 years ago & was traveling Europe within 3 weeks.
• Realizing that to keep a sustainable travel lifestyle, he needed more than just a few clients to cover his bills.
  • Knowing that you need to have more than enough in order to prevent yourself from getting into a situation where you have not enough.
• Growing from hiring a buddy to help with the little bit of overflow, to a team of 12
• My own errors & hard time in hiring sub-contractors in my copywriting agency, even though I made sure I hired talented people.
• Working with a systems-based business coach to support the growth he wanted.
• Putting A LOT of work into systems to support a big season of business growth.
• Figuring out a management structure & the balance of boss/friend with the people who work under you.
• Monthly team calls where you talk about things other than work.
• What it's like to be the boss from both of our perspectives.
• How to provide critical feedback to employees without creating conflict.
• His best advice on the quickest & most effective way to grow a new podcast.
• How to re-purpose content from a podcast to help grow it.

• Counterweight Creative
• CutTheBullshitPodcasting.com - Find a link to his Facebook group here
• PodcastPowerPack.com/roadmap - A guide to starting a podcast. (I used this for myself, and 10/10, absolutely recommend.) 
• PodcastPowerPack.com/audit - A guide to improve an existing podcast.
• Trello
• Slack
• 15Five
• Best Self Management Podcast 
• Loom Screen Recording
• Asana - Recurring Tasks

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Molly and how unapologetic she was about her personal values and her dream for the world driving her business. She's the perfect example of what I envision for everyone in the Business Bitch community: doing work they love, being booked solid, charging well, living a happy life, and changing the world with their work. I loved picking her brain about how she was able to go from newbie tattoo artist to fully booked in about a year, and I think her advice will really help you too... especially if you're as much of an Instagram lover as I am. 

Here's a breakdown of what we talked about: 

• Her career as a hairstylist before becoming a tattoo artist
• Why 1:1 customer service is a great career
• Using her college fund to go to tattoo school so she could do something meaningful with her life
• Why she chose to move to Oregon for tattoo school
• Why she was intimidated by the tattoo industry
• Art & tattoos are such an emotional thing & what it's like to juggle clients & client requests with emotions attached to them.
• What happens when you can't serve everyone who wants the unique work you have to offer.
• How she grew her audience & client base via Instagram… without being spammy or using bad bots.
• How her spirituality & faith informs the work she does & the values she shows up with in her tattoo parlor.
• Business ethics & how you treat customers based on your world view.
• Body positivity & why it's so important to her & the work she does. And why you should send her a million body positivity memes on Instagram. And my own recent revelations with body positivity.
• Her challenge of finding balance in her business with the actual tattooing & the drawing & prep work required.
• The trial & error she's working with now to get balance into her business.
• Doing it scared.

Links mentioned & where to find her online: 

• Saint & Sinners
• Instagram: @ladywolly
• I think this is the quote about dieting & politics she was referring to: "Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women's history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one." -Naomi Wolf
  • Found here
• This is Marketing by Seth Godin
• Books by Bernadette Jiwa
• Her email: [email protected] 

The show is a moment of zen & relaxation to let yourself BREATHE amongst all the hustle you're doing as an entrepreneur to make your dreams happen. To let yourself off the hook from time to time and actually take care of yourself, instead of beating yourself up unnecessarily. (And so, ironically, you're actually MORE productive because you took time off.)

Ruth is an incredible business woman doing incredible things, but in this podcast, she talks about the importance of time management, letting yourself off the hook every now and then, and how no one really cares if you're working 9-5 or 5-9. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• The definition of a maven
• The isolation of entrepreneurship, especially in a small town
• Creating a community when you don't have the one you want
• The facade entrepreneurs put on to show that things are better than they actually are - and the life-changing connection that can happen when you admit what real life is actually like for you
• How, when, and why she started her first in-person event for business owners
• How her smaller events evolved into a summer camp
• Hosting events without needing an event planning certification
• Her first camp went viral & sold out in 12 hours, then having a hard time selling tickets to camps that came after.
• How hard it is to sell & ask for money when you have heart behind your business.
• Time & energy management.
• Why it's 100% OKAY to not work 40 hours per week as an entrepreneur, and why you may actually be better off not doing it.
• How embracing your inner maven in your desired subject area can help you eliminate having to do tasks & jobs you hate.

Links mentioned in the episode: 

• The Maven Project: TheMavenProject.ca
• The Maven Project Podcast
• Camp Maven
• Facebook - The Maven Project
• Instagram - The Maven Project

In this episode, I tell you how Business Bitch came to be. I walk you through my development as a marketer, copywriter, and entrepreneur that led me to the point of being qualified to start a business like this... as well as the "magical" elements that fell into place for me. (Hint: they weren't actually magic, and came from a really raw desire for me to fulfill my dreams.) 

Here's what I talk about: 

• My teenage dreams of writing for Rolling Stone
• Zero jobs in print media upon university graduation
• Online freelancing at cheap rates
• Moving to India
• Attempts to teach English abroad
• Going back to India and losing my job after 2 days
• Landing a new job through new friends
• Growing my first business & the successes it had
• A failed launch that could have made $54,000
• Joining a mastermind
• A psychic prediction for February 16, 2019
• Throwing shit to the wind with affirmations. Because why not? 

Links to things I mention: 

• AIESEC
• Copy Power
• Hello My Name is Awesome

Before Heath became an entrepreneur, he worked in the concrete construction industry and had a lot of material possessions. He had everything everyone said would make him happy, but he wasn't. After a couple of rock-bottom moments, he decided to find people who were living lives they loved, and started interviewing him on a podcast he created. He figured out how they got their dream lives, and decided to create his own.  Since then, he's started an Amazon selling business, written a motivational journal, and created the world's first R-rated affirmation deck, among other things. Here's what we talk about in the episode: 

• We reminisce like old people on how fast time passes. 
• How he's getting The Sweet Ass Journal into new niches. 
• An all-mayo, all-salt sandwich. 
• Waking up face-down, pants-down in his garage with a bottle of booze and a nosebleed. 
• The Sweet Ass Domination Deck & the meaning behind my favorite card at the moment. 
• The sexy three-way between your brain, heart, and soul. 
• Twitter bots starting a business relationship. 

Find Heath Online: 

• Instagram @heathfistpumps
• HeathArmstrong.com
• RageCreate.com
  • 👆 Find his journal & the affirmation deck here! 

Links mentioned in the episode: 

• Party Like a Diabetic 
• The Artsy Now Show
• Zero to Travel Podcast
• Earl Nightingale's The Strangest Secret
• Heather B. Armstrong
• Never Stop Peaking Podcast

Ever since Michelle was 6 years old, she was exceptionally talented at soccer. So talented, she played in leagues above her age group and on men's teams. She was going to go pro, no doubt about it. But a game-ending injury just as she started her college career took her out of the game forever, and she had to find another way. She took to being a self-employed personal trainer, and before long, that career path evolved her into who she is today: a coach for pro athletes who have millions watching them. Her story and her drive is inspiring, and something we can all learn from, even if you don't share her massive business vision. 

In this interview, Michelle and I talk about: 

• The recap of her story & her dream to go pro as a soccer player since the age of 6. 
• Her move to LA & feeling called to help athletes. 
• Her vision to positively impact both athletes and the millions of people who watch them. 
  • (This gives me goosebumps every time.) 
• Quitting her job and surrendering to her dream, even with no money on the table. 
• How she keeps the faith and surrenders to making her dream come true, even when things get tough and money is tight. 

Find Michelle online: 

• BlazenSystems.com
• Instagram: @mblasen_blazensystems

Before you dive into this episode: I'll tell you that Bryan's joke about becoming the #2 wedding planner in all of Singapore was not because of the alphabet. He got to the #2 spot all on his own merit, and his story there is fascinating. 

In this episode, Bryan and I talk about: 

• His history as a dancer and being on a dance crew. (I'm his friend and didn't even know this about him before the interview.) 
• How getting a small allowance in school started his drive to earn more money. 
• His unconventional, but linear progression of earning more money per hour & how he got into business for himself as the #2 wedding planner in Singapore.
  • It was a wild road via dancing, being a tour guide, working as a waiter, beatboxing, being a sound technician, taking a last-minute gig as an emcee, and so on. 
• The way he got the best wedding planners in the world to teach him for free. 
• Being the guy with an old, duct-taped Honda at fancy weddings in LA. 
• Getting ghosted by people in his industry & keeping the positivity anyway. 
• How he got published in big publications to gain clout for his new business. 
• Why he's deciding NOT to grow his new video animation studio. 
• His new business ideas. (He's got a ton of them, and they're amazing.) 
• Our separate experiences with online business courses. 
• His thought on the quarter-life crisis people all over the world experience. 
• Thoughts on authenticity being about what you do rather than just "being" who you are. 
  • (He calls me out hard on my anxiety. 🙄 But you gotta love him for it.) 

Links Bryan mentioned & where to find him online: 

• Oh Happy Days
• Seth Godin: Who would miss you if you're gone? 
• BryanVictor.com 

It's the first ever episode of The Business Bitch Podcast, and I'm so, so excited!  In this (short) episode, I talk about where my not-so-selfless idea for this podcast came from, why I created it, what to expect from me, and how to tell me what YOU want to hear. 

Hint: You can tell me what you'd like to hear by leaving a comment on the podcast, writing a review on iTunes, or hitting me up on Instagram @businessbitchchelsea.