The Game Changer

Fanette Rickert is a French food photographer specializing in shooting sustainable and vegetarian products based in DC. Before finding her focus, she struggled with:

• Working with too many clients
• Having impostor syndrome
• Undercharging services
• Lack of efficient structures and systems

In today’s episode, Fanette shares with us how she was able to overcome her struggles and uplevel her entire business and make more money with fewer clients – by niche-ing down and focusing on a single ideal client.

In order to achieve this, she talks about:

• The mindset shifts she made in order to go from a frustrated freelancer to a thriving entrepreneur;
• How to stand out from the competition and turn more of her inquiries into paying clients;
• The key to booking higher-paying clients is to STOP focusing so much on the price;
• Leveraging Upwork – a freelance platform – to get her ideal client.

Links

Upwork, Freelancing Platform

Follow Fanette on Instagram or visit her website.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Since starting my business in 2017, I’ve always created content centered around “how to work from home in the summer with kids”. But this summer, the situation is more dire. 

In these strange times, I have noticed two approaches that business owners that have children are taking:

1. Taking a step back and saying, “I’m just gonna come back to this later”.
2. Take no prisoners – “I’m gonna keep going as if nothing else is happening in the world because anything less than my 150% effort into this business is failure”.

Both of these approaches are rooted in PERFECTIONISM which is being used as a coping mechanism to avoid negative feelings. But this is not the time for perfectionism. 

There is a third approach that you can do to pursue business growth with your kids at home for the summer or the foreseeable future – healthy striving.

In this episode, I discuss three practical strategies you can use to embrace healthy striving in your home with your kids this summer. These are:

• Embracing prioritization.
• Creating mental boundaries.
• Incorporating more rest.

Links

Dare To Lead, Brene Brown

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

This week’s episode is a continuation of talking about foundational business topics. Last week, we talked about defining your niche. On today’s show, we’re focusing on the next step which is putting together a singular core offer that will actually sell.

Packaging and pricing services are at the top of the list of challenges that creative entrepreneurs experience when getting started in business. They get stuck and approach the topic the wrong way by organizing and packaging services for some idea of affordability. 

But making your service smaller and cheaper doesn’t make it easier to sell. In order to have a profitable business, you need to be thinking about how to make your service packages bigger. 

I’m here to give you three principles to help you create a service package that is seamless and easy and effortless to sell to your ideal client because it’s so appealing:

• Position yourself as a specialist in helping a certain type of person.
• Focus on the outcomes and results that people will experience when they work with you.
• Consider how you can create value instead of minimizing the price.

Links

Get on the waitlist and avail of the Business From Scratch presale by emailing [email protected] or sending a DM on Instagram.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

If you ask the average creative entrepreneur what their biggest challenge is, 7 times out of 10 they will say either 1) getting more clients or 2) making more money.

Most people think in order to get more clients, you need to do MORE: offer more services at more price points for more types of clients. But the do more approach comes with some serious drawback

• You end up spread too thin across too many small projects.
• You struggle to attract clients as a “generalist”
• Your processes are challenging to manage inside of your business.

The way to make more money and consistently attract the right clients is not by doing more but doing less. That’s why it is critically important to have a clear niche for your business.

A niche is a description of who your business helps and how you help them. In this episode, I’m walking you through how to get started with defining a niche. We are talking about:

• A simple framework for defining your niche
• An exercise to help you discover where you should focus
• How to know whether your niche is the right choice for you
• Frequently asked questions from creative entrepreneurs defining a niche for the first time.

Links

Building a Storybrand, by Donald Miller

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Today’s guest Tyler McCall came on my radar about two years ago when I was incredibly frustrated with Instagram as a business owner. I felt like all of the advice I was getting from so-called “experts” wasn’t helping me grow my business.

Tyler’s approach revolutionized the way I approach Instagram but also marketing in general. His program helps clients develop their own, customized Instagram marketing strategy so that you can stand out and make sales.

In this episode, he is sharing his one-size-does-NOT-fit-all Instagram approach. His insights might blow your mind, such as:

• The difference between being a content consumer and content creator.
• How to be results-oriented with your Instagram strategy instead of focusing on vanity metrics (likes and followers).
• Why you should eliminate the phrase “link in bio” from your vocabulary.
• Why he personally doesn’t give a rip about whether his engagement goes up or down – and you shouldn’t either. 

Links

Visit www.tylerjmccall.com/free to take Tyler’s masterclass, How to Sell More Products, Programs, and Services on Instagram (without obsessing about your follower count or posting every day.)

Follow Tyler on Instagram.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

This is the third episode in a three-part series about adding a digital product to your business. Today’s show I’m sharing a dead-simple launch strategy that will help you:

• Validate your product idea before you sink time, money, and energy into them
• Customize your products to the needs of your buyers
• Get paid to create your digital product

This launch approach is called Monetize Before You Make It. The basics steps are to:

• Validate or “tease” your idea
• Clarify the offer
• Launch the offer
• Deliver the offer and serve your buyers

Links

Sign up for the Rise of the Digital CEO video series here. 

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

This is the second episode in a three-part series about adding a digital product to your business. On today’s show, I’m breaking down the kinds of digital offers you can create so that you can start getting an idea of the kind of digital offer you can add to your business.

If you’re interested, but don’t know where to start, this is where to start.

First, let’s talk about questions you can ask if you aren’t sure whether creating a digital offer is right for you.

• Are you creating a course or digital offer because you think it’s going to fix your struggling business?
• Do you enjoy teaching and sharing knowledge with others? Would you be happy to have that be part of your long-term business vision?
• Can your business afford for you to spend time, energy, and money developing a digital offer?

Next, I’m breaking down the different kinds of digital offers and the pros and cons of each. They are:

• Group coaching
• Courses
• Memberships
• Templates

Links

Sign for the Rise of the Digital CEO video series here. 

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

There is a lot of interest in growing your business through digital products. We see so many people in the creative space growing their income and impact through courses, memberships, templates, and other digital offers.

This interest has been amplified because of Covid-19. Since we have been prevented from working in-person, many of us have gotten scrappy and created virtual offers.

While we know there is a huge opportunity in the digital space, we also know that creating and selling digital products is not as easy as it looks. Many people have been frustrated by launching things that no one buys, by how much work it takes to create a digital product, and the technology that causes insane overwhelm.

This episode is part 1 in a 3-part series about how to add a digital product to your business. Specifically, in this episode, we are talking about the biggest mistakes most entrepreneurs make when they start selling digital products and offers.

Before we get into what you should do, we have to address what you shouldn’t do.

Mistake #1: Trying to sell your digital products the same way you sell your services

Mistake #2: Creating what you think people need rather than what they want

Mistake #3: Getting discouraged when you don’t meet your own unrealistic expectations

Mistake #4: Trying to figure it out on your own

Links

Join the waitlist for Business by Design by going to katiewussow.com/james.
Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

On this special bonus I’m doing something I’ve NEVER done before. I’m taking you behind the scenes of my most recent launch of Thrive Business Bootcamp.

There are two major reasons why I wanted to share this launch debrief with you. The first reason is that most entrepreneurs don’t have a process in place to evaluate what they are doing in business. But as business owners, we have to learn how to do that!

The second reason is that I learned a lot from this particular launch and it’s leading me to create something new. You will be the first to hear about it!

I’m walking through my four-step launch debrief process and sharing the actual results from my Thrive Business Bootcamp launch.

Step 1: Gather Data

Pull together all of the qualitative and quantitative information that you gained during the launch.

Step 2: What Worked?

List the things that worked well during the launch.

Step 3: What Didn’t Work? What Can Be Improved?

List the things that you need to work on in order to improve your results in future launches.

Step 4: What’s Next?

Write down the adjustments you will make and the date of your next launch.

Links
Sign up for Your First 100 Leads by going to katiewussow.com/james.
Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Rebecca Smith is the founder and CEO of Better Life Bags, a former Etsy shop turned direct-to-consumer company that has a mission to provide jobs for women with barriers to employment.

In this episode, Rebecca is sharing her story and wisdom of building Better Life Bags through a series of slow, intentional, and obedient steps. She shares:

• How to feel more confident turning a hobby or side hustle into a real business, even if you don’t have a business background.
• What it looks like to take small steps toward a dream even when it isn’t the right time to go all-in.
• Her specific strategy to manage the hustle of running a business while being a mom to 4 kids.
• Surprising advice for entrepreneurs who are just getting started with their business.

Links

Follow Rebecca on Instagram and Better Life Bags on Instagram.

Learn more and shop at https://betterlifebags.com/

Buy Rebecca’s book, A Better Life.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.