The Missing Link Podcast

There comes a time in all of our businesses where we become the problem. We become that cog that slows growth and prevents us from reaching that next level that we so desire. We struggle to get stuff done. We have a hard time delegating. We're involved in every single part of our business and it feels overwhelming.

It's that point where you become the bottleneck. If you're a business owner, chances are that you've experienced yourself being that bottleneck, that thing that slows down your business. And it's not fun. I know personally. I have seen how I get there and how my mindset drives me to believe that I have to be a part of everything in my business. The truth is, that kind of thinking is what slows the growth of your business down.

Today, I sit down with the amazing Karen Sergeant. Karen helps CEOs with operational planning to support six and seven figure launches and businesses. She's the creator of Bottleneck Rx, which helps CEOs remove themselves as the bottleneck in their growing business. And she works back pocket with CEOs on strategy, operational planning, forecasting, and systems.

What I love about Karen most is that she gets that systems alone aren't the solution. And that you have to begin with mindset if you want to kick your business into high gear. I'm excited for you to listen and tune into Karen's wisdom so you can free yourself from being stuck in your own personal bottleneck.

Whether you're just starting out or are in that stage where you have to shake things up in order to grow, one of the hardest things for business owners is to move past the fear of getting started. You worry about making the wrong decisions, failing, being unsure which direction that you have to take, or even being overwhelmed by how much there is to do. So you sit and end up procrastinating, doing nothing or redoing something a hundred times in the name of perfection.

So this week I wanted to tackle a problem I see over and over for entrepreneurs: getting over the inertia that is driven by fear. This is one of those episodes you may not know that you need, but once you listen, you're going to see how important it is if you're trying to move forward and keep bumping into stumbling blocks, or feel the pull of your fears moving you in a different direction.

So I'm excited for you to tune in and let's get started.

Today we're shifting gears a bit and talking about the importance of nutrition and preventative health as a business owner. I personally have always been careful about what I eat, but with all the built-in stress that comes with being a business owner, I've experienced some health issues that come up from sitting too long, dealing with stress and so on.

So, today, I decided to bring in my good friend and personal functional nutritionist and registered dietitian, Meryl Brandwein. Meryl is one of those people who knows more about being healthy as she herself is a cancer survivor who turned to nutrition to heal herself over 20 years ago. She works with people to help them truly understand how food is medicine and create personalized plans to support long-term health. She's also the expert on genomic nutrition and we talk a little bit about how this gives you a window into what you REALLY should be eating for your body - instead of following fads.

If you've been seeing some of the stress pile up or you want to learn more about how nutrition can support your energy levels, help your clarity and more - this episode is crazy informative.

I've mentioned on the podcast before that I am not great at meditation. It's an old story I tell myself, but every single time I pick up the habit, I realize how important it is for me to simply take those few minutes out of my day to get present and connect within.

In part, some of that has to do with finding the right kind of meditation for you. Which is why I wanted to bring someone who I trust and someone who is a business owner, and could talk about the power of meditating and how to weather your business during these tough times.

So today on the podcast, I sit down with my dear friend, Laura Sage. Laura is the CEO and founder of Chill Anywhere, which is designed to help people live less stressed and more mindful lives. Chill Anywhere works with people and businesses to offer mental wellness solutions, including mindfulness, meditation, and yoga classes anytime, anywhere.

I'm lucky to have known Laura since high school. I've also sat on the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation with Laura, founded in honor of her mother. And she's actually the person who set me up on a blind date with my husband.

I'm excited to share with you Laura's perspective on meditation and why she created a meditation app just for business owners. She'll talk about what it meant to grow her business during tough times, how she pivoted, and insight on what it means to look at your entire customer journey.

I loved having this conversation with her so I could share it with you. And if there's any app to look at for meditation, I hope you'll choose Chill. So tune in and learn a little bit more about what this app is all about.

This week on the Mindset First podcast, I wanted to dive into a topic I've been thinking about quite a bit. It seems that every time I open my email inbox or hop onto social media I find someone else sharing something that feels either a bit controversial, super intimate or I'll be honest - a bit of an overshare. And these aren't people who are sharing from their personal profiles - but their business profiles.

It is certainly stuff that stops you in the middle of your scroll, and can even be something you decide to either applaud or back away from like a car wreck that you don't want to be a part of, but it got me thinking about how much we should share as business owners. So, this week on the podcast I wanted to explore that topic from the aspect of mindset and some of the things some very wise teachers and mentors taught me. I also share a bit of my thoughts from a business perspective to help guide you in thinking about this for your business.

So, I encourage you to buckle up for this one and listen somewhere you can really tune in without distraction because there's a lot in this episode!

It's not often that you get to sit down with one of your business best friends on your podcast, but for me having my dear friend Justin Blackman on has been something I've been wanting to do for months.

Justin Blackman has written for more than 419 different people and managed to sound like every one of them. He uses an ultra-specific voice mirroring process called Brand Ventriloquism to analyze and replicate the nuances that make your writing unique, and documents it so you can scale your content without sacrificing authenticity.

He's created voice guides for industry experts such as Amy Porterfield, Stu McLaren, Bobby Klinck, and Danny Iny.

And he also has a writing workshop called Write More Personality-er, where he shows you 57 fun ways to make your copy a little less Ross and a lot more Joey.

One of the reasons I wanted to have Justin on is that in becoming the voice guy, he had a unique journey that required him to ditch the voices in his head of doubt and confusion so he could actually step into his expertise - voice. In this episode, Justin shares candidly what he did to really own his voice and what you can do too to own yours. This is one of those episodes that will have you thinking differently about how you talk to your audience and how you want to share.

The number one complaint I hear from business owners like you is that you simply don't have enough time to get stuff done for your own business. It's like you're constantly focused on doing everything for everyone else, yet your business is missing some key components. Not to mention all of the other obligations you have for the people who need you in your life.

Just the mere mention of doing stuff for your own business probably sets you into overwhelm. I know because that was me for years. One of the most important changes I made in my own business (and what I teach my clients) is that time is really another excuse for not having what we really want in our business - and until and unless we release ourselves from the shackles of time, we can't achieve the freedom and success we want.

In this episode I talk a bit about how time really holds us back and how you can start to shift your relationship with time.

Today on the Mindset First podcast, I sit down with Mai-Kee Tsang, a Podcast Guesting Strategist & The Sustainable Visibility™ Mentor to discuss how we call can better amplify our voices by guesting on podcasts.

Podcast guesting is a great way to expand your audience yet so many of us are afraid to pitch ourselves or worry about getting rejected. Mai-Kee shares with us some of her strategies about pitching with purpose and how even the most introverted & empathic entrepreneurial leaders can feel safe in the spotlight when they guest on aligned podcasts.

We also talk about how you can be more aware of who you represent as you become visible and how to really show up with a more well-rounded perspective. This is an incredibly important episode for anyone who wants to thoughtfully expand your visibility through guesting on podcasts. I'm excited for you to tune in and listen.

Although many of the people I work with feel like they found their purpose, I often encounter entrepreneurs who just fell into their business. Either by being laid off or not wanting to go back to a certain career or business. You might have found yourself doing what you're doing now because you're good at it. You like it. Maybe you make good money. But is it your purpose?

This is a topic I encounter on a daily basis. And one that I've struggled with personally for years. Especially because I had a mother who found her purpose at the age of six.

So if you're struggling with knowing if what you're doing is what you're supposed to be doing, or if you're waiting for purpose to reveal itself, this episode is for you. It will hopefully help you think a little differently about purpose and how you can uncover yours. This is the Mindset First Podcast.

When it comes to nailing the business side of your business, it can feel like you're constantly juggling a bunch of balls and you're not sure which one you need to tend to first. Most of us hate tending to the business side of our business - getting the legal docs right, putting in the systems to help you grow, understanding your pricing and more. But today's guest, direct response copywriter Abbey Woodcock, shifted her business to teach the business side of creative freelancing including setting up systems to grow a freelancing business and building out an in-house content team.

Abbey shares some of her expertise on today's Mindset First podcast and talks about some of the key business systems you need to put in place in order to have your business grow and make more money.