The Playful Mompreneur

Get the Playful Sales Page Template at a 20% discount (before 30 September 2021) — that's $20 instead of the regular price of $25. This template will save you hours of time, approximately 10  grey hairs, and potentially thousands of dollars (or tens of thousands of rand!) on the services of a copywriter. That's because I've given you a proven sales page structure and packed the template full of my best high-converting copywriting tips.

Simply answer the prompts and voila — you'll have a sales page (or starter website) written up and ready to be plugged into your website builder of choice. For more on the tech side of things, tune in next week. For now, I'm happy to tell you that my favourite website builder for sales pages and starter websites is resoundingly Carrd*. And if you'd like to jump ahead and get some guidance setting up your Carrd site, check out my course, Sales Page Superhero.

Timestamps for this episode, Why you need a Sales Page — like yesterday!
[00:03:56] What is a sales page?
[00:13:56] Use a Sales Page as your starter website
[00:16:05] Sales Pages for Minimum Viable Products (MVPs)
[00:18:53] A Sales Sage is the home of your launch
[00:21:33] Examples of Sales Pages for mompreneurs and other playful business owners
[00:22:19] Sales Pages for Service Providers
[00:24:37] Sales Pages for Digital Products
[00:26:58] Sales Pages for Authors, Thought Leaders, Speakers
[00:27:27] Sales Pages for selling Physical Products
[00:28:13] Sales pages for Homeschool Moms
[00:29:09] Get the Playful Sales Page Template

Connect with me, Shelley Tonkin Smith
@shelleysmithcreative on Instagram.
On my website, shelleysmithcreative.com.

Got a question about this episode? Go to playfulmompreneur.com and record it. I'd love to answer your question and feature you on a future episode of the podcast!

Don't miss out on any of our weekly episodes! Go to playfulmompreneur.com and join my email list. When a new episode goes live, I'll let you know — and I'll share tools and insights for your Playful Mompreneur journey. In addition to that, please also SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your podcast player (TPM is on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast — and a whole lot more players!)

Remember, get your copy of the Playful Sales Page Template at psptemplate.shelleysmithcreative.com.

* affiliate link — I'll get a small referral commission if you choose to purchase, at no extra cost to you. 

As a mompreneur, I'm sure it's safe to assume you don't have a whole lot of spare hours in your day. In fact, when you get some child-free time to focus solely on work, I'm sure you feel the pressure to be as productive as (super-)humanly possible! The thing is when we put ourselves under this kind of pressure, then it's difficult to feel playful. Our work can stress us out, instead of making us feel fulfilled and energised.

So today, I'm talking about playful productivity and I'm drawing on some of the incredible tips and strategies that Alison Deary shared with me when I interviewed her. (For more on Alison's incredible business journey and how she managed to grow her online sales at The Papery by 200% in 2020, tune in to Episode 22!).

Here are some of the topics we cover in the episode:

• The difference between an ideal, real, and typical schedule — and why it is important to have a plan for your week, even if life doesn't always go to plan!
• The importance of priorities over productivity.
• How to set an overall Objective for your business to guide every decision you need to make.
• The importance of practice over perfectionism. It's all about the baby steps, Mamas!
• How to get "Out Of Overwhelm." Alison walks us through her process for banishing overwhelm and taking action.

Connect with me, Shelley Tonkin Smith
@shelleysmithcreative on Instagram.
On my website, shelleysmithcreative.com.

Connect with Alison and The Papery
The Papery Website*
2022 Mom Diary* (pre-order now for delivery in Sept 2021)
Free Out Of Overwhelm E-book from Alison and The Papery
The Papery on Instagram
* That's my friend Lynne's affiliate link for The Papery. Lynne connected me with Alison, so I thought it would be nice if she gets a small commission if you decide to buy any Papery products, at no extra cost to you. #mompreneurcommunity

Got a question about this episode? Go to playfulmompreneur.com and record it. I'd love to answer your question and feature you on a future episode of the podcast!

Don't miss out on any of our weekly episodes! Go to playfulmompreneur.com and join my email list. When a new episode goes live, I'll let you know — and I'll share tools and insights for your Playful Mompreneur journey. In addition to that, please also SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your podcast player (TPM is on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast — and a whole lot more players!).

When the going gets tough, it’s often really difficult to feel playful. We have to feel safe to play and I think for many of us, feeling safe has been a bit of an issue over the past 18 months or so.

My guest today has had her share of tough times in business and with her own health. Alison Deary, is the co-owner of The Papery, a proudly South African online store that sells beautiful diaries, journals, and other stunning stationery products. In 2020, The Papery lost out on five week’s worth of sales during the hard lockdown when they weren’t allowed to trade. They also lost many of their regular diary orders from their corporate clients, who were cutting their budgets due to the pandemic. Then, in what is typically the busiest time of the year for her business, Alison suffered a series of heart attacks.

But get this: despite these devastating setbacks, The Papery had a record year, increasing their overall sales by 60% and their online sales by a whopping 200%. And thankfully, when Alison and I had our interview, which was back in May 2021, she was healthy, happy and bubbling over with a playful attitude!

It’s this playful attitude that Alison credits, at least in part, to the success she achieved in 2020 — despite all the challenges that came her way. And she even told me recently that they’re on track to smash their 2020 records by the end of 2021!

Don’t you want a piece of that kind of success? I know I do. Now, Alison admits that embracing playfulness has been HARD at times. It’s taken a lot of intention and indeed some hard work. But as you’ll hear in the interview, the way of playfulness has been far more effective than the way of over-work, hard grind, and trying to be supermom.

Oh yes, because if you thought her 2020 year was remarkable, just wait until you hear what happened back in 2016 when she decided to “do nothing”!

So if you’re wondering how you can continue to embrace an attitude of playfulness, even when the going gets tough, then stay tuned!

Connect with Alison and The Papery
The Papery Website*
2022 Mom Diary* (pre-order now for delivery in Sept 2021)
Free Out Of Overwhelm E-book from Alison and The Papery
The Papery on Instagram

* That's my friend Lynne's affiliate link for The Papery. Lynne connected me with Alison, so it's only fair that she gets a small commission if you decide to buy any Papery products, at no extra cost to you. #mompreneurcommunity

Don't miss out on any of our weekly episodes! Go to playfulmompreneur.com and join my email list. I'll let you know when a new episode goes live and share tools and insights for your Playful Mompreneur journey. In addition to that, please also SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your podcast player (TPM is on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast — and a whole lot more players!).

And remember, I'd love your question for a future episode of the Playful Mompreneur Podcast. Go to playfulmompreneur.com and record your question. I'd love to weigh in on your question and feature you on a future episode of the podcast!

It's the Playful Mompreneur Podcast's 21st Birthday (in number of episodes, not in years — just yet!) and I'd love to hear from YOU as I plan the next season of the show.

Really — I'd love to HEAR your voice, asking me a 90-second question. You can record your question at playfulmompreneur.com, by hitting the big red "Start recording" button. Feel free to share the name of your business and the best place to find you online. I'll play your question on the podcast and then give you my best answer. I may even bring in a guest expert to weigh in. This is like free business coaching or a (very playful) strat session!

In this episode, I'm essentially giving you the highlights of season 1 so that I can jog your memory about questions that you may have had about any of the episodes so far. As you think of questions, write them down or pause the show and dictate them into your notes app. Better yet, pause the show, head to playfulmompreneur.com, and ask your question straight away!

I'm also sharing a bunch of topics that I would love to talk about. I'm hoping that you'll have questions about these topics too — so that I can talk about them in a future episode!

So go on, don't be shy, record your question. I really would love to hear from you and make the Playful Mompreneur content as relevant as possible to you. I can only do that with your input.

I'm excited to get your questions on topics such as time management, creating digital products and online courses, sales pages, copywriting, website platforms, podcasting, homeschooling as a mompreneur... or any question that's popped into your mind as you've listened to a Playful Mompreneur episode so far.

Record your question here.
Or, if you'd prefer to write in, send your question to [email protected].

There's a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment. As moms, we have to navigate this uncertainty not only for ourselves but also for our kids. And then there's the uncertainty involved with starting, maintaining, and growing a business for us as mompreneurs.

I think we could all do with a bit of certainty in our lives, what ya think?

So in this week's episode, I'm unpacking a comment that Jennifer Locke made in her interview on last week's episode of the Playful Mompreneur. She said that when you were starting out in business, it's OK to get some quick wins under your belt and to make some "quick and dirty" money to build your expertise and network — and to learn more about the highest value work you can offer to clients.

I'm so glad she brought this up because I think it's a really important part of the Playful Mompreneur way. I call it "sure thing" work — work that you are good at, you can do very easily and that you can pick up reasonably quickly. It may not be your dream work, and it may not be the kind of work you want to do long-term, but it pays the bills and therefore keeps you on your Playful Mompreneur path.

Jenn and I agree that you don't want to be doing "sure thing" work forever, but in the episode, I dive into how you can use "sure thing" work strategically in your Playful Mompreneur business.

Connect with Jenn @jenniferlockewrites on Instagram.
On her website, jenniferlockewrites.com.
Learn more and purchase Book in Six here.

Connect with me, Shelley @shelleysmithcreative on Instagram.
On my website, shelleysmithcreative.com.

[Cough] Jenn's Book in Six website/sales page was designed and set up by moi. Want a page like that for yourself? Check out Sales Page Superhero, where I'll teach you how to do it. Or reach out to me at [email protected] if you'd like me to take the whole job off your hands. I'll write your sales page and design and set it up oh-so-beautifully for ya!

And don't miss out on any of our weekly episodes! Go to playfulmompreneur.com and join my email list. I'll let you know when a new episode goes live and share tools and insights for your Playful Mompreneur journey. In addition to that, please also SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your podcast player (TPM is on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast — and a whole lot more players!).

"Business? Ugh!"

That's the response you would have received if you went back in time to Jennifer Locke's college days and asked her whether she'd like to go into business.

Yet, Jenn is now in her fifth year of running a successful business! A true Playful Mompreneur, Jenn spends no more than 15 hours per week on her business, leaving the rest of the time to spend with her 5-year-old twin girls. And the girls will be getting a baby sister any day now!

Jenn has ghostwritten several books for thought leaders, she has developed a suite of digital products to educate aspiring authors, and she is an author coach. In fact, she's been coaching ME through my book writing process over the last six months.

Jenn has so many valuable insights for Playful Mompreneurs — from creative ideas for finding childcare to productivity tips for getting important work done in the small pockets of time that we have as moms.

Connect with Jenn @jenniferlockewrites on Instagram.
On her website, jenniferlockewrites.com.
Learn more and purchase Book in Six here.

[Cough] The Book in Six website/sales page was designed and set up by moi. Want a page like that for yourself? Check out Sales Page Superhero, where I'll teach you how to do it. Or reach out to me at [email protected] if you'd like me to take the whole job off your hands. I'll write your sales page and design and set it up oh-so-beautifully for ya!

And don't miss out on any of our weekly episodes! Go to playfulmompreneur.com and join my email list. I'll let you know when a new episode goes live and share tools and insights for your Playful Mompreneur journey. In addition to that, please also SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your podcast player (TPM is on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast — and a whole lot more players!).

Practice over Perfection.

This is one of the "Plays" that you'll see coming up in my book The Playful Mompreneur — which is set for release on SA Women's Day on 9 August!!!

In this episode, I reflect on my interview with Candice Alvey in Episode 17, highlighting how the practice mindset has fuelled the origin of her first business, Lexi's Lunch — and has also equipped her to start another business, Beautifully Planned!

I'm also sharing more behind-the-scenes of my book writing process, which is now moving into an editing and publishing process. More than ever, I'm reminding myself of what I'm encouraging you to do in this episode: Practice over Perfection.

As a Playful Mompreneur, you can design your life and business to your exact specifications.

That’s exactly what my friend Candice Alvey has done. Candice has a blog and business called Lexi’s Lunch, where she writes about health and nutrition and shares delicious healthy recipes, perfect for families. In our interview, she talks about how she has designed her business around her life — particularly around homeschooling and parenting her 8-year-old daughter Lexi.

In our interview, she talks about how she’s become more playful about things like brand partnerships and involved her daughter in the running of her business. By my assessment, it seems like Lexi has assumed the role of Chief Playful Officer. :)

The interview itself is amazing, but Candice has taken things up a notch. Since we recorded the interview, she has started another business, based on the feedback she’s received from her audience! Yes, this is the expansive power of being a Playful Mompreneur!

Candice really lit up when we started talking about scheduling and planners at about the halfway mark! She uses her planning process as a self-care and creative outlet, complete with stickers, doodles, recording memories, and meal planning.

So I’m pleased to be one of the first people to announce that you can get your own copy of Candice’s Beautifully Planned planner in the next couple of weeks. Pre-order your planner today to make sure you don’t miss out.

Candice previously sold digital copies of the planner, so it has been tried, tested, and is now thoroughly trusted. So much so, that her previous customers begged her to sell a printed version of the planner. I know that she has been painstakingly working with printers to make sure that the planner she has lovingly designed will be a joy to use.

You can also join her Monthly Sticker Club and get a new set of beautiful stickers each month to not only make your planner Pinterest-worthy, but to also make planning a whole lot more fun.

Get more information and contact Candice @beautifullyplannedsa on Instagram and beautifullyplannedsa.com.

Of course, you can also find her @lexislunch on Instagram and lexislunch.com.

Find me, Shelley @shelleysmithcreative on Instagram or send me an email at [email protected] to tell me about what you thought about the show.

Are you enjoying the Playful Mompreneur Podcast? Then I think you'll love my upcoming book, The Playful Mompreneur's Playbook. I'd also like to invite you to be part of my launch Street Team for the book. As a member of the Street Team, I'd need your help with:

• Promoting The Playful Mompreneur's Playbook to your networks when it launches. I'm pushing for August the 9th (Women's Day in South Africa!), but if not, it will be the week thereafter, August the 16th.
• Purchasing a copy of the book and leaving a review on Amazon.
• Sending me good vibes to complete the publishing.

Want to click your support up a notch — and get a free review copy of the book? Then join the team of Beta Readers as well. Beta Readers will also do Street Team duty, as well as the following:

• Read a review copy of The Playful Mompreneur's Playbook (between July 16th and August 2nd).
• Send me your feedback, comments, and typo catches. 
• Leave a review of the book on Amazon before it launches.

To join the Street Team, send an email to [email protected] and I'll start getting information out to you as I have it. In that email, please let me know if you'd like to be a Beta Reader.

I really appreciate your support and cheering! 

When it comes to getting things done, which one do you gravitate towards? The marathon or the sprint?

In this episode, I'm reflecting on my interview with the incredible Amanda Jefferson of Indigo Organizing (check out Episode #14). And I'm giving you a behind-the-scenes look at my book writing process as I near the end of the 6-month deadline I assigned to myself. Spoiler alert: It hasn't gone quite as planned and I've had to get creative (and yes, playful ya'll!) with my deadlines and my expectations.

If you're finding yourself in a similar situation with launching a big project — an online course, a new service offering, or starting your business — then I'm sure you'll be able to relate to a whole lot in this episode. I hope that you'll be able to learn from some of my experiences and that you'll be encouraged to get your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) into the world, pronto.

Here's what I cover in this weeks' episode:

• My highlights from my interview with Amanda.
• Ah-ha moments from the interview that have helped me make some exciting (and playful) decisions about my book.
• How my 1-week writing retreat went (and why I decided to forego the last day — I mean whaaaaaat?!).
• Why approaching book writing as a sprint has not been working for me — and what's working instead. 
• How I've changed my approach to drafting and writing to focus more on the "fun and easy."
• How (and why) I've played with my book deadline. And how that's given me a renewed sense of energy (and another book...).
• Why I'm turning book writing into a marathon. No, a Fun Run!!