Your Dream Business

In this week’s episode, I am going to be talking about finding your mentor in your business world and why you need one. We will also be covering how you can find the right mentor for you and what they can do for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• A mentor can be someone who doesn’t even know they are your mentor.
• A mentor is someone you can look at and help to guide you, giving you that encouragement and hope that you need to grow your business.
• A mentor should be someone who is a few steps ahead of you so you can aspire to that – they are a good example for you.
• A mentor should also have similar values to you that resonate with you.
• Your mentor should make you think – “This is possible”.
• Your mentor may change throughout your career as you grow and change.
• Follow people and watch their content to see if you resonate with them and feel inspired by them.
• Consume content and you may even want to invest in training, program or memberships to get closer to people who inspire you.
• If someone’s free content helps you, take it to the next level and invest – you never know where it could take your business.
• You don’t have to join memberships or buy courses, but it may really help.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…If you like what someone does and how they do it, join their online program or membership so you can get even more from them.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• Some exciting updates – 00:52
• What is a mentor? – 09:14
• How to find a mentor – 23:40

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

FREE training – 5 easy steps to market your business without feeling confused or overwhelmed.

Join my academy!

Want the transcript – click here

In this week’s podcast, I have the lovely Jamie Cross who is a wife, mother of four small boys as well as one on the way, and an 8 figure entrepreneur who runs an organic skincare company – MIG Living and an international movement – the HER effect. We talk all about how Jamie grew her business from the bottom to the top and the story of how Jamie’s business plan came to her.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• A successful business is built on solving problems for people.
• It takes a long time to get your product/service right, it is not just an overnight process.
• You may have to go back to the drawing board numerous times before you perfect your product.
• Listen to feedback and what your customers say to make sure your product is right.
• You have to keep going and push through the hard parts.
• It is important to know which phase of your business you are at.
• Understand who you are and what you stand for in your brand.
• You have to know who your target customer is so you can speak to them through your marketing and online presence.
• You don’t have to have amazing packaging/website/labels/logo when you first start out, it is a process.
• Your fortune is in your follow up – repeat purchases are very profitable.
• In order to get yourself out of your business, you’re going to need to hire.
• It takes a lot of work to run a successful business.
• You have to learn, develop and change through your life to progress.
• Action creates clarity and action cures fear.
• If results don’t happen, take it as a learning opportunity.
• You may fail at first, it is natural.
• Look at which areas are draining you as an entrepreneur – those are things you want to eliminate.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…Being a business owner is hard, it takes a lot of work and you have to be patient, but it will all be worth it.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• An introduction to Jamie – 08:09
• Following your business dream – 11:20
• Starting a business – 15:53
• Buying patterns of customers – 26:40
• Replacing yourself in your business – 28:18
• Believing in yourself as an entrepreneur – 35:52
• Hitting 8 figures in business – 38:40
• Growing and running a successful business – 44:35

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Sign up for my FREE training – How to successfully market your small business.

Check out MIG Living

Transcript below

 

Teresa: Well, hello there and welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. As always I am your host Teresa Heath-Wareing. I used to say that a lot at the beginning, and I didn't say it it's all now, which is funny because surely there's people that are new to the podcast.

 

Maybe they don't know that I'm the host. Anyway, if that was you, you do now know I'm the host one odd way to start my podcast. But if you are a regular listener you know that you could just be expecting anything, I feel like I wing this most of the time, which I think we do in life. Generally, if I'm honest, I had a call with one of my 90 day people and she was talking about the factors, you know, I don't really know what I'm doing. And I said, I don't know any of us, really do. We just do the best job that we can at winging it. So, uh, yeah, that was a bit of nod start but anyway, how are things, how are you doing? So this week I've got an interview for you, but before we get going, and I tell you about that, I want to tell you about a new free training that I am going to be doing. Which if you followed me for a while, if you've been on any of my master classes or webinars, you know, I love this stuff. I get very excited. I take a huge amount of energy from it, and I love the question and answer a bit at the end. So for me, any kind of free training, any webinar, any master class whatever we wanna call it, it's effectively the same thing.

 

The thing I love the most is the fact that you get to ask me a question about your business. Cause I find it fascinating seriously. I've worked with some amazing, crazy, brilliant, wonderful businesses over the many years in marketing. And I just love hearing about people's businesses and what they do and how they do it and why they do it.

 

So for me, that's the best bit. And also that's like again, when my brain comes live is in the fact that I have to think fast and I have to come up with ideas quickly. And I think my brain quite likes that. So I am running a free training, which is going to be the five things that you must know to successfully market your small business and get more customers. That isn't the most catchy subject title in the world. However, I might have tweaked it by the time that this episode actually comes out. Cause I was always, I'm a little bit of ahead. So that's what it's basically going to be about. I'm going to tell you the five things that you need to know and be doing in your business in order to really successfully market your small business.

 

And these aren't going to be crazy, amazing. Hire a marketing team. If only these are gonna be things that you can do. And again, if you've ever been to my stuff, you know that I do not waste your time. This is going to be an hour's training. I'm going to be live in my office, in my home as I always am. And I'm going to be sharing with you stuff that you can take away and do that very moment or that next day and things that will make a difference to your business. So this isn't going to be an hour of me chatting away. This is going to be an hour of me giving you good, good free training, which is awesome. And then I've got some other exciting things to tell you, which I won't be telling you until that free training.

 

If you join me for that free training, I'll be telling you about something that's happening in November, which you will get a chance to be part of, which would be really, really cool. Okay. So if you want to join me for that. Probably good idea. If I give you the link, the link is teresaheathwareing.com/freetraining, all one word.

 

So if you go there, you will see a lovely landing page. You just have to put your details in and you can register for that training and you can join me live on, actually, it'd be a good idea if I gave you the date. October the 15th. There we go. Okay. So, like I said, that's going to be a great hour. Well, worth your time at free training.

 

I can't wait to see there and get to meet some of you. When I say me, I mean, virtually through a training, but we get to chats. That's cool. You get to ask me questions. So I'm really, really looking forward to that. Okay. On with today's episode. Now, this is a really interesting episode. And sometimes when say interesting, it doesn't mean good.

 

I don't mean that's all. I mean, this was fascinating. I got to interview the very lovely Jamie Cross who talked to me about her business and how she grew it literally from the bottom up. So let me read you this bio, Jamie Cross as a wife of 20 years and a mother of four small boys with the fifth on the way.

 

And she is an eight figure entrepreneur, eight figures. Like when I read that, I was like, Oh my goodness like that is a big business. So she founded her organic skincare company, MIG living after seeing a business plan in a dream 10 years ago. Last year, Jamie also started the Her Effect as a global movement to mobilize and empower women towards action and vision for impact.

 

Giving them all that is necessary to be successful in their families, their business, and in life. Jamie's being featured on top morning shows such as NBC, Fox, ABC, CPS, all the letters as well was in Lifestyle magazines, Forbes, US Today, Red Tricycle and more. Now first off running a business is a lot of work. Running a business that is an eight figure business I can imagine is a whole host of work.

 

And then she is a mum to four boys and has one on the way, like I have one daughter and that is hard enough. And a grownup stepson who pretty much looks off to himself. So honestly, I don't know where this lady gets her energy from, because it feels to me like she is some kind of superpower. Also her story about how the business plan came to her, blew my mind.

 

And I just kept having to ask questions about it. Cause it just couldn't. When I said, I couldn't believe that I don't mean it didn't believe her. I just mean it was just an amazing story. So I don't want to say anymore, cause I want you to go and listen to her and listen how she came up with this amazing business idea, and then succeeded in this idea in probably one of the most competitive industries. And you know, skincare there got huge marketing budgets. Huge, huge, huge. So the fact that she's taking it from literally an idea to an eight figure business is mindblowing. Anyway, I hope you're going to enjoy her story and enjoy all that she has to tell us. So it's my great pleasure today to welcome the very lovely Jamie Cross to the podcast.

 

Welcome Jamie, how are you?

 

Jamie: Thank you. Good. How are you doing? Thank you for having me.

 

Teresa: We were just chatting about the weather, cause it is one of the most British things to do that wherever we speak to anybody in the world that we're talking about, the weather and yours has been particularly exciting that you've had crazy hot weather and now you've got snow.

 

Jamie: Yes, Colorado at its finest.

 

Teresa: So yeah, that's a little bit different from where we are in the UK at the moment where it's just probably dull. Um so Jamie, just so my audience can get a feel for who you are and how you got to do what you're doing. If you could just give us a brief overview of your history, that would be awesome.

 

Jamie: For sure. Yes. So I got out of corporate banking, actually 12 and a half years ago and two and a half years into full time motherhood. I just knew I had to build something knew I wanted to do better than struggling financially. So, I, um, ask God for a billion dollar idea, how to dream and started a skincare, your company in 2010.

 

And we've just blown past the eight figure mark in the last two and a half years scaling online. So we have been in business for 10 years and, um, And it's been amazing and hard and all those things.

 

Teresa: That is just like, I love the way it's really casually go. I was in banking, ask for an idea. And I created skincare.

 

Like I couldn't imagine a more difficult thing to try and create. So was it that you had a particular interest? I mean, we've all gone there. You can trust anyway, haven't we, but what was it? Something in particular, where does that come from?

 

Jamie: Yeah, well, I had, um, I had a dream and I saw myself doing what I'm doing now, but I, it was like a roadmap.

 

Um, and to this day, 10 years later, I can literally close my eyes and see it as if I had been watching a movie. So it was like, here you go. Here's an idea. And I didn't know how to formulate. I mean, my whole background was finance and banking. And so I spent a year on my own just studying herbal alchemy and chemistry and naturopathic healing and herbal medicine. And so formulated our first product after about a year of studying. And, um, and then it's, you know, and then it was just, and I don't know what kind of questions or how deep you want me to go at this point, but you know, it was like take the product. I hit the streets of Denver and Colorado Springs just started walking into stores and talking to owners and buyers and just hustling and selling product.

 

Um, in the beginning.

 

Teresa: Because again, you're going into like one of the most difficult industry to go into. Yeah. One's with humongous budgets. Like, again, it was literally like, do you want to make it hard to run yourself? You could have gotten like a whole different route, but it's super easy, but now we're going to make it really, really difficult.

 

So I'm really interested in the dream and cause I like. You know, I like it better spirit stuff. I like kind of, you know, I, I try and manifest things, not sure I success land, but I give it a go. But like, was it, that is a hell of a jump that is a real step. Like I dreamt something I'm going to do it. So did it kind of say, or did you feel like you could see the route you needed to go and you follow that route?

 

Or did you just start and then. Follow the path that you were making on your own, or how did that come about?

 

Jamie: Yeah, that's a really good question because a lot of times I think people think when they start a business, I mean, it's good to have a vision. It's, I mean, it's necessary to have a vision. It's good to have a plan, but most of the time when you start something, the idea is.

 

Okay. I have an idea now, a skincare company. And so then you have to ask the right questions. What, um, what's for me being in a consumable product market, you know, started with what's the best product to start with and formulate. What are people gonna buy over and over? What's a product that everybody needs.

 

And so it just started with what kind of problems can I solve for people? I think every successful business. I know every successful business is built on solving problems. Well, for the, market. And so, um, so it started with a bar of soap and I know it's so like counterintuitive cause you, people think, you know, success and Oh, you started with all this knowledge and you must have started with all this capital, but I had nothing.

 

I had no knowledge. I had no capital. As a matter of fact, I was the girl standing at the grocery checkout, like my debit card declining. You know, we were struck, my husband was teaching full time coaching wrestling, and I'd given up a huge salary as a banker. So that was where, like just the pure bootstrapping grit of okay.

 

I can't, I can't afford to build a pretty website or make a really pretty logo. I just have to make a really good product. And so, um, well that's where the hustle came in. Like I took my product after formulating and just was walking into stores all over the state of Colorado. Um, and we grew from there, but, um, the billion dollar business starts with the smallest taking the smallest action and.

 

And, um, for me, it started with a bar of soap.

 

Teresa: That is just unbelievable. Like, you know, to know where you are today. Did you ever for one moment think that's where I'm aiming to get to, or that's what I'm trying to, or was it literally like, let's just get to the next bit of the next bit to the next bit.

 

Jamie: Well, there's, there's both, there's, you know, there's two parts to that. There's being the visionary of like, yes, I can see. And for me, I, I've always been, you know, having come out of a banking career and not struggling financially to all of a sudden having these like real problems, like our utility companies are calling saying like, when are you going to make your payment?

 

And me thinking, this is not how I'm gonna live my life. You know? And so there was the day to day of. How do we separate ourselves in a saturated market? How do I create something that's going to solve problems for people in a unique way? What do people really want and what do they really need? And then there was the vision of like, there's two prices to pay.

 

I can pay the price of mediocrity and stay in this financial struggle for the rest of my existence, or I can pay the price of figuring this thing out and going for it. And so I, I could, I mean, I, when I started it, it started with this just cry of God, show me a billion dollar idea so that I can change the world and leave a legacy for my family.

 

So the vision, the seed of vision was there. But how you get there is just a matter of. That's where that's where the rubber meets the road. And that's where I think a lot of people either they quit too soon or they never really ever get started because people don't understand, I think they think success you're born into success, which is not the case.

 

And so I had to do a lot of mindset, like work on just am I worthy of wealth? Well, can I do this? Can I, can I be successful? Can I do something that's going to work? And then keep working, you know. But when the rubber hits the road, it really is, is just a matter of doing the work. And I think that's where people fail.

 

Teresa: And I think you're entirely correct. I think sometimes people look at a story like yours and rightly so it motivates them, which is wonderful. It should do. But also because they're not living it every single day, it sounds so easy. It's like make a product, learn something, make a product, put it out there, work your bum off a little bit, boom.

 

You got an eight figure business, which is just insane. And obviously that they weren't there for every single day, those 10 years, where oh, man. I bet. So in those early days, right, you've got your product. You're really proud of it. You're really like, yeah. I love this. I know. It's really good. I was that experience of going and trying to sell it, like almost like a door to door salesperson type thing.

 

Jamie: Yeah, exactly. Well, in the beginning, the bar soap was a huge hit. I mean, I. I didn't skimp in my research. I didn't just try to get a product out there. I took my time. I, I really gained a keen knowledge of the human body and I really developed, my formulation strategy around the fact that your bodies able to heal itself, it's designed to heal itself and so natural.

 

And what really ticked me off in the beginning was all the good marketing out there of like pure and natural and clean. And then when you actually look at the ingredient profiles, you're like, this stuff is garbage. And so just developing that philosophy and, um, and then being able to get out there. But the truth is I started off with a bar soap and did wholesale retail for a year.

 

Well, then I did farmer's markets. And that was like in the first year of doing markets, you talk to thousands of people and you realize how picky people are. You realize really what kind of problems are out there. Like I would have people come to my table, say I've spent so much money on lotions and potions.

 

I've tried everything I've been to every expert nothing's worked. Can you help me? And so I had to go back. To the drawing board in that first year. Cause I started to create follow on products and sometimes it was a slap in the face, but you can't take that process personally....

This week’s podcast is all about pricing. I will be talking about the practical side and the emotional/mindset side. I really hope these points will help you if you are struggling with setting your prices or want to increase them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• It is good to look at what the industry average is but you can go higher if you are more experienced or lower if you feel someone is charging too much.
• See what your competitors are doing – this will help you judge where you need to be.
• Think about what makes you different and why people will come to you.
• What can you offer that your competitors don’t have?
• As your credibility grows, your prices should increase.
• You can grow your credibility by getting in front of other people’s audiences.
• Investing in yourself with time and money builds on your experience and confidence in charging more.
• People perceive that the higher the price, the better the quality, so you need to charge enough for your product/service otherwise they may go elsewhere.
• You need a significant price difference for each service level you offer so it makes sense to the customer.
• Reward loyalty with existing customers – you don’t have to change their prices.
• Putting your prices up is as simple as changing a figure on your website or price list – remove the emotion from it.
• Not everyone will be able to afford your prices, but that’s okay, there will be others who will.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…Don’t undercharge yourself for what you do, have confidence and go and charge a bit more!HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• Looking at your competitors pricing – 07:07
• Gauging your pricing based on credibility – 09:10
• Have confidence in your pricing – 15:55
• Pricing structures – 19:00
• Putting your prices up – 22:05

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Join my Instagram challenge in the academy!

Getting yourself in front of other people’s audiences podcast

Transcript below

 

Hello and a really warm welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. How the devil are you? I am good. I've had a busy week and I'm still trying to catch up. Isn't it funny? Like when you, when you get out of a habit of doing something, the work it takes to get you back into that habit.

 

So obviously if you listen to the podcast, regularly, you know, that, you know, a few months back, I had really tricky few months with my mum passing away and, um, I was in hospital. I had an operation, emergency operation. Anyway, and all that had a huge impact on how far ahead I was with my content. So normally I like to batch, normally I like to be ahead and obviously because of everything that went on, I couldn't.

 

So. I got not behind. I've always managed to produce the podcast and have it out for the right day. However, I normally liked to be much more ahead of time and I haven't been, so that's really bothered me, but it's taking so much work to get back into that habit of basically making sure I am really ahead.

 

So my team are doing an amazing job of keeping up with me in the sense of, I might be a little bit late passing everything over to them and they work super fascinated, which is amazing. But yeah, I'm hoping to get back into it, but it is interesting isn't it? But it just. It's so tricky to get back into that good habit.

 

The other thing I need to get back into the habit of is knowing what content I'm putting out. Because again, sometimes like today I've sat down to come and do this episode and I'm like, "What am I gonna talk about?", whereas normally I'm much more planned ahead than that. So again, I need to work on that. And it's weird you know, when I'm in the Academy and someone asks me a question and they'll say, you know, "Teresa, what should I do about this? Or how do I do this?" Like, my brain just goes, kicks into action and then pulls everything out of it. And it just gives them all the answers. And it's great. But sometimes we sit here and I don't know about you and I'm sure everyone's the same.

 

You sit here and, you know, you know, so much stuff, but when you're thinking, what am I going to say in today's blog? Or what am I going to talk about in today's podcast? Your mind goes blank and you're literally sat there, like, "I'm not even entirely sure. Like, do I know anything?". So anyway, I need to get back into both of those good habits and start just becoming a bit more organized. Cause the only thing affects is how much time I take to do things. So the other thing I wanted to tell you about before I get on with today's episode is we are going to be running an Instagram challenge, a five day Instagram challenge in the Academy.

 

So I had this idea and I put it in the group and I was completely inundated with requests of, "Yes, please. Yes, please do this." So what I've decided is that, on the week commencing the 5th of October, I had to look at my planner then I've been doing lots of planning today as well. I'm going to be doing an Instagram challenge in the Academy.

 

So if you like the idea of that if you need some motivation, if you want some more engagement on your Instagram or you want to get some more followers. Or you just want to make sure that you're being consistent and you need the very gentle persuasion of my boot up your backside. Then maybe now's the time for you to join the Academy.

 

Maybe now is the time for you to join me and the other members as we go ahead and do this challenge. Now, obviously there are a million other brilliant things that are in the Academy and reasons to join, but maybe you just need a bit of motivation with an Instagram. And as you know, I love Instagram and lots of people in the Academy are really keen to do this.

 

So we're going to be doing that. Like I said, week commencing the 5th of October. So if you join between now and then, then you can join me and the rest of the members for that. So just go to teresaheathwareing.com/Academy and I will put the link in the show notes. Okay. Today's episode, we are going to be talking all things pricing.

 

This is going to be a practical side and the more emotional slash mindset side. So basically, I'm having a bit of a brain dump of some things that come up all the time. And I thought as I answered them a lot anyway, why not answer these same questions to you guys? Or bring these same points to you guys and see if they help you too?

 

So I am literally just going to go through a random list that I've got in front of me. And also because I am very honest. I've tried to record this episode about three times now, and I keep messing up because it's seven o'clock in the evening and I've been working all day. But you know, you just, I just want to get this done today and therefore,

 

I just completely messed up a few different times and I've just literally started again and that's it. Now it's going to be fine. Thank you brain. It's going to be absolutely fine, you're going to be great. But it is going to be a little bit like I'm just running through some random points, but I've really hope these points will help you. So let me start by saying that when I first started my business and I had to come up with the pricing, I find really, really difficult. And I ended up charging out things way too cheap. Because I found it really hard to put a price on my head. I'd never had to, I'd always been employed before, so therefore, my salary dictated the level of my expertise and my knowledge and my experience. And when it came to doing it myself and literally saying this is what the price is. There was a few issues, sort of one, one, how did I actually put a price on my head and two having that confidence of actually trying to sell yourself is really hard.

 

When I was selling a service. When I was working for a marketing agency, it was our agency that I was selling. It was easy. I find it really. Okay. You know, more than happy to apprise on the agency's head. But not so much when it came to me and my own stuff. So there's a few things I want you to think about it if you're struggling with this, that might help you come up with kind of a better pricing. And I've got a story about something that really kind of hit home for me. But first one thing I want you to do is look at these kind of points such as what's the industry average. Now I'm not necessarily always totally into that. Because one, sometimes I feel like people charge an absolute extortion amount of money for something that really is not that difficult. And the other time is actually if you are really good at something, and you have this amazing credibility then you can go above the industry average if they want to work with you because they love you then actually pricing doesn't matter so much at that point. As in, you can go higher than your competitors.

 

But it's a great place to start in terms of, okay, "What are people actually charging for this?" So if you want some confidence, that's probably a really good place to start because hopefully your industry will dictate to you that you probably need to charge a little bit more. Not always, but, but maybe.

 

Okay. So that's the first thing. What is the industry charging? Then have a think and have a look at what your competitors are doing. Again, I don't always pay a whole lot of attention to people like that, but it's always good to know what are they selling for what price? So what's really interesting is as you know, in the past, I bought a lot of stuff, a lot of online stuff.

 

I just bought a lot of stuff generally. Um, but I've done a lot of learning and a lot of educating myself through online courses. And I find it really interesting to see what you got for what price. So some stuff that was like, 20 something dollars actually was like, this is amazing. This is really good value and other things that were thousands, I thought, "Yeah, it's okay. It's good." But you know, in terms of the price, that was a kind of real interesting kind of eye-opener in terms of what you can expect to get for your money. So what are your competitors doing? Like I said, it's not always that that's set in stone for you. It's just a case that it might help you judge, where you need to be.

 

Then I want you to think about what makes you different and where your credibility is. So, let's start with the what makes you different first. So obviously if you are selling a service, which I know lots of you do sell a service, then you are going to be the reason they come to you. Because basically if you're doing consultancy or coaching or you're a PT, or you do social media management. There are a million people who can do that, literally millions of them, but there's only one you.

 

So I really want you to think about that when you're thinking about your pricing and where you are and how you get that confidence to price what you do you charge. I want you to think about what makes you different. Why would they come to you? What specific thing that you have you got that maybe your competitors don't have?

 

Is that, that bit of experience, is it that you have worked in that particular industry? Let's say you coach women who are in high powered jobs. I don't know, just making this stuff up, like I always do. But it's like, but let's say that's what you do. And therefore you've had lots of experience that, and therefore that will help come towards your pricing and the credibility of your pricing.

 

And then, like I said, go back to that credibility. So for instance, a couple of stories, the first one. When I first started out, my day rate was like 150 pound a day. Right. Which makes me laugh now, which isn't funny. It just this the fact of like, when I first started, that's what was reasonable for me to charge a day based on my confidence and my, I was going to say my experience, but no, that's.

 

My experience should have been way more expensive than that. But I guess my naivety in the industry and my naivety in kind of having that confidence to sell my own price. So I was literally starting off at that. And then every time something amazing happened every time I got asked to speak somewhere, every time I got an amazing guest on the podcast, every time I got chosen as one of UK's influenced marketing influencers. Every time I got invited to speak on a stage that added to that credibility and effectively added to that bottom line, it added to that that day rate. And my day rate is considerably way way, way more than 150 about a day. Thank goodness. But that came through lots of different things, which a few things we'll talk about today, but one of them was that credibility.

 

One of it was one of the aspects was the fact that I was being picked and chosen and identified as someone who knew what I was talking about and whether I felt that inside. That's by the by. I want you to think if people are asking you to come and help, if people are asking you to come and speak you, to give your opinion, you to comment on something or other, then they have the credibility of you or they see you as a credible source.

 

So this is a two way thing. One, if you have had that experience, then should you have put your prices up or two, why not go out and become more credible. Why not? And I did an episode, literally a few weeks back about How to get on other people's audiences or in front of other people's audiences. So go and listen to that episode.

 

And I think that was episode 135 go and listen to the episode and then go and put yourself out there so that you can be seen as more credible, which then in turn will mean you can charge more money. The other thing that was really interesting for me was I, like I said, in the early days, when I first started, I didn't really have the confidence in terms of charging for me because I'd always worked for someone else.

 

However, I went to a conference in the States and I paid a huge amount of money to go out to the States to go to this conference. And it was a big risk. I think I've talked about it before in a podcast, but basically I booked the conference and then worried later about how the hell I'd pay for everything. But it worked out and it was all great, but what happened was, and one thing that was really interesting for me was I went to this conference and weirdly, sorry, as a side note, I'd spent like three years doing a degree in marketing, and I'd had 10 years experience in marketing.

 

And yet for whatever reason that didn't give me the confidence to go, there's a price on my head and it's worth every penny. But then when I went to that conference, I came back from the conference and loads of people I'd say loads like you know handful, maybe at the time contacted me and said, "Oh, Teresa, I've just seen that you've been out to the States and waved in a conference that's amazing. Or we'll have to go for a coffee and you can tell me all about it." And I sat there and thought, are you kidding? Like I've just spent probably a thousand pounds on flights, 2000 pound on accommodation, probably another thousand pound for the ticket, for the actual event.

 

And then obviously food and everything else that you have out there. So the trip. It is probably pushing on four or 5,000 pounds. And you want me to go for a coffee and just tell you what I learned? And suddenly that was at the point that I was like, hang on a minute. No, this isn't right. Like I make the investment in me because I know how important it is, but that doesn't mean that you can just have that investment for nothing.

 

So that really helped me in terms of sort of. Putting that price down and understanding what I was worth which likes I said it was weird. It wasn't like I hadn't done the greed this, I probably still pay for now. Um, but a student loan, but like that really helped me understand that actually, no, this money I'm investing in myself the time you're listening to this podcast right now, are your customers doing that "No"?

 

Are some of your competitors doing that? "No". So again, even this, even though it's a free resource. That's absolutely fine. If you are in the membership, if you are on the 90 day program, all that is investing in yourself, all of that is learning. And therefore for me, that really helps me go, okay, I'm paying out all of this it's money and therefore I need to go, this is why I charge this amount, because this is the type of stuff I do.

 

This is the experience I got. This is where I learned from, this is the kind of person you're getting. So that's the first thing. So the next thing I want to say about the pricing is the fact that sometimes, so you'll, let's say you do a quite, or you do propose of someone to do their social media or to be their coach or whatever. And they come back to you and go, "Oh, you're a bit expensive."

 

I think with lots of people, the instant reaction is to literally go, "Oh yeah, sure. No worries. I can, uh, I can like charge less". And immediately come down on price. Or even maybe before you've sent the proposal you're in your head going, "Oh, I, uh, I don't know if I should charge that or do you think they can afford to pay that?"

 

Which let's just on a quick note there, whether they can afford to pay it or not is none of your concern. Okay. You need to be confident that that's the price you charge. If they can't afford it, then I'm ever so, sorry but that's the price I charge. And sometimes I have definitely been guilty of charging less.

 

This is back in the agency time because I felt like they couldn't afford it when actually I should have just had the confidence to go. This is what I'm charging. Cause who am I? I might think they can't afford it, but actually, they might absolutely be able to afford these things. So first off, don't always feel like you've got to come down and try and have that confidence. I know it's hard when you're wanting clients or you're wanting people to buy your services. It can be really tough. So stand by your guns and go, no, this is what I charge. But the other thing is that cheap doesn't always do you favors. So there is this thing and, and we all know it because there's all been, you know, we've all got parts in our life where this absolutely tells that was a true story in the sense of if I was to go to the shops and there was a bottle of wine or a gin for like, or not gin, let's go down with the wine group.

 

And there was a bottle of wine for like one pound 50. I would think, "Oh my goodness, that is going to taste like absolute pants." And then I see one that's like 9.99 and I think, "Oh yeah, we'll give that a go. That looks nice." The perceptions and the cost. I have no idea what the wine's like until I open it and try it.

 

The same with when you look at coaches or the same with courses, you know, again, like "Oh if it's that much, it must be really good. If they're that much, they must be really good." The same way as like, when

In this week’s podcast episode I’m speaking to the lovely Jennifer Spivak who is the CEO and founder of an all-female Facebook and Instagram Advertising agency, working with women entrepreneurs to make more money and smash the patriarchy! We talk all about why Jennifer does what she does, ad funnels, building connections with your audience and setting boundaries in your business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• Don’t get too creative with your ads, keep it simple.
• Send cold audiences to a sales page with all the information they will need.
• Price qualify to eliminate people who are not your target audience.
• Tell people who you are and what you do, don’t make it too salesy.
• It’s okay to put people off your service if they are not the right match for you.
• Don’t be afraid to have boundaries with your lead generation.
• Decide what your non-negotiables are - You are the business owner, it is your business.
• Show your potential customers your credibility, your personality and also your vulnerability.
• Talk about your story and the lessons you have learnt along the way – relatable to others.
• We need to build connections.
• Remarketing to a small audience isn’t too expensive.
• You don’t have to add value every time you post, you can also talk about you and what you do.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…

Ads don’t always have to be salesy, give your audience an insight into who they are buying from and show off your personality, because no one else is you!

HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• An Introduction to Jennifer – 10:27
• Support for domestic violence – 16:20
• Ad funnels explained – 25:00
• Setting boundaries in your business – 32:45
• Email marketing to a cold audience – 44:15
• Remarketing – 58:50
• Example ad content – 01:04:40

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Join my mailing list

Check Jennifer out!

Transcript Below

 

Teresa: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. How are you doing this week? So I'm jumping straight in. I've got a great guest for you today. You know, one of the things I love about doing the podcast is that I get to learn from people and I particularly like it when it's a subject or it's a conversation, where I don't know, or it's different to how I think, or I learned something new because it's just really nice to have that opportunity to be the stupid person in the room, asking the questions and really kind of getting something new. So I love it. Now when I saw, or when I was approached, I should say for today's podcast guest, I,

 

I looked at what she was saying, and I looked at what she wanted to talk about, and it kind of, uh, I don't want to go as far as they triggered me cause it wasn't that bad, but it did make me go, "Oh, okay". Because her leading title was "Why you don't need lead magnets." Right. And if you listened to this podcast regularly you know, I am a big fan of a lead magnet. So I was like, you know, almost just a little bit defensive a little bit, like, "Come on then what, what you say in what's this about then?" And I decided that I needed to interview her. I needed to have a conversation with her and find out what her strategy was and why she did it.

 

And also like. As the interview went on, other things kept coming up when it was almost like take everything I've ever told you and turn it on its head. Like seriously. It was kind of crazy. Brilliant, amazing, funny, like all at once. So. Obviously we have particular strategies for doing things, and I have the kind of lead magnet way and loving them with emails and talking about the customer, not about yourself.

 

And that's the way, obviously I tend to work, but I love it when someone shows me something different or does something different and what I love even more is that she's got results to prove it. So what I think you're going to get from this episode is that. It's not a one size fits all it never, ever is.

 

In fact, if you're on my email list, you know, I had a little rant about this, not so long ago in the fact of. It really bothers me when someone is an expert because they got good at that one thing, like, say for instance, it's like someone who just does Instagram and teaches Instagram, cause their own account was really successful and it's like, that's cool.

 

That's brilliant. And if you wanted to be just like them in their industry with their customers, they are the perfect person to teach you that. However, if you're in a different industry, different customers, different business, then. Who says that's going to work. So the one size fits all is really kind of.

 

It does frustrate me in the sense of, I have got like a whole host of tools and tactics and strategies, but I have used for years on different things. And some things are work really well and others not so much. And what we talk about in this episode is her strategies and her tactics are very much geared to people who run marketing agencies, freelance consultants, those sorts of people who are trying to get clients to work with. So the done for you service. So if you have a done for you, I, you do someone's Facebook ads, or you do someone's social media. Then this episode is gold. It's so good. And there's so much good stuff in there, but also if you're not from that industry, then just still listen, just still listen to the facts of like, This is a different approach, a different way of doing things.

 

And I love how we get on. We, I had a scream and I've said I've never met her before. She was great fan. And, and it was a really, really good episode to record. We both really enjoyed it because it was almost like this really friendly, sparring. She would say something I'm like, hang on a minute here.

 

You know, you can't go tell them, them that type of thing. Um, because it was different. Maybe what I say, but, but different horses for different courses. You know what I mean? So your business might work brilliantly doing what she said, or it might work brilliantly doing what I say. But for me, this is a perfect timing in terms of, like I said, I, you know, I see lots of other groups.

 

I see lots of other people. I see lots of other conversations. I follow lots of people and I see people trying to like give the same advice and telling everybody, just put your prices up or just do this, or just do that. And it's like, it doesn't always work like that. Like one of the reasons I love doing the 90 day program so much is that I get into to your business.

 

I get to understand who you are and then I can give you proper advice. Based on years and years of marketing experience. Not here's the cookie cutter approach. This worked for me. And therefore this is going to work for you. There's so many different things. What stage of the business are you at? What you know, experienced, do you have who've you worked with, what do you love doing?

 

I remember talking to someone who was on the 90 day program once who would. Who'd taken some well, had been given some advice from another expert who had said, don't waste your time doing meetings. Don't waste your time having clients do a one to many thing. And I said to her, what do you like to do? And she's like, I love going to meet clients.

 

I love chatting with them. I love dealing with client. And I'm like, well, obviously that one too many things is not for you then. So carry on doing what you're doing. Obviously make it profitable. Obviously make sure that you have a constant sort of feed of people coming into that funnel. But if that's what you like, that's what you should do.

 

But this other expert who, who didn't know her as much, or didn't know that that's what she actually like was like no wasting money, wasted time wasted, you know, really kind of, you know, almost. Sort of belittled the thing that she liked the wanted to do. And it's like, just because that fits for me or someone else does not mean that it's going to fit for you.

 

So like I said, you know, I didn't mean to go into a little bit of a rant here, but it was just so perfect that I recorded this episode. That was a really kind of. Not against what I teach at all. It was just another viewpoint and it was a really interesting viewpoint. And when I sent my kind of slightly ranty email out to everyone the other week in my list, I decided to list all the industries that I'd worked with.

 

So I'd, I'd kind of talked about the fact. Well, one, I said, I don't normally sit, well, sorry. I normally sit on the fence about stuff like this, because I don't like to rock the boat, but I was just so passionate about this, that I was sort of saying, you know, that. Like I said, you know, if they've only had proven results in their own business and their own industry, it's really hard for them to say, I know how to market your business.

 

So I listed who I've worked with. And these are companies that I have physically done their marketing for. These aren't people who I've just stood in a room and talk, or they've been a member of the Academy. These are actual businesses over my 16 years where I have gone and understood their business and explained to them what they need to do.

 

And in most cases I've done it for them. So I have marketed cars, chicken medical supplies, clothing, banking, personal trainers, consultants, musicians, coaches, beauty products, childcare services, telescopic slides. Yeah. Who knew they need marketing vehicle conversions, food festivals, military museums, fire doors that was sexy.

 

A gym training programs, gift shop, renewable energy, tourist attractions, and some. Like seriously. That's where I get my experience from it's from having all of those different businesses, ask me how do we market our business and me having to work it out and find it out and testing things and, and doing one thing in one business, which works amazingly. And something else that doesn't, you know what I mean? It's it's through that experience anyway, I didn't mean to go on that little rant. Uh, if you're not in my email list, head over to the website, teresaheatwareing.com Get on the email list. It'd be great to see you over there and I better get on with today's interview. So today's interview is with the lovely Jennifer, who is CEO and founder of a high vibe.

 

Facebook ads squad. She's helped hundreds of businesses generate millions of dollars on Facebook and Instagram and seen that a thousand percent plus return on that ad campaigns. Her all female team enjoys crunching data and helping women owned businesses, making tons of money and smashing the patriarchy.

 

Jennifer has been featured in Forbes listed as one of top Facebook ads manager to watch in 2019 and has an inspiring story about how she escaped domestic violence left a successful company that she co founded and started her own all female agency. I hope you enjoy it. Here she is. So I am really excited today to welcome to the podcast, Jennifer Spivak. Jennifer.

 

Lovely to meet you. How are you doing?

 

Jennifer: I am doing amazingly lovely to meet you as well.

 

Teresa: Good, good stuff. And we were just chatting that Jennifer's in New York and I'm in rural structure. So we couldn't probably be two opposite places. If you try. And this is it. Nice weather in New York at the moment we're, we're recording this in September.

 

Jennifer: Beautiful. It is like, like breezy, but still like cool weather on the weekends. Like I'm living my best life right now in this moment.

 

Teresa: Nice, nice. Well, with, even though it's summer here in the UK, we're having. We had an early nice summer, but now it's like, no, we're done. We're done that spring back the rain.

 

I know. So sad, so sad. So Jennifer, for my audience, if you can tell them, let's just kick off with a little bit about who you are and why you got doing what you're doing today.

 

Jennifer: So, um, I own an all female Facebook and Instagram advertising agency. We work primarily with other women entrepreneurs. Um, and you know, something, I find myself saying a lot.

 

Is it. Yes, we're an ad agency, but that isn't the point, right? That's like, that's the means to the end of putting more money in the hands of more women, that's actually, what's behind everything that we do. It's why I have an all female team. It's why we mostly do work with other women entrepreneurs. And it's also why we donate a percentage of everything that we make to an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence achieve financial autonomy and independence through entrepreneurship and, um, other aspects of their programs. So. Money for more women is the goal and it's behind everything.

 

Teresa: I love it. I love it. And actually, I think you're probably one of the first people I've interviewed. I've interviewed people that have, who are very, I'm going to try and say, philanthropic. That's the right word. Isn't it? That do give money, but not in the sense of it's a structured thing.

 

So two, two questions really, first, why women, and then why that charity?

 

Jennifer: Why not women? I mean, isn't it. Like I'm okay. Let me try and not push right now

 

Teresa: to take me down.

 

Jennifer: Isn't it, our time, like, come on, you know, and I don't know, I kind of have this experience of just like the world and the planet that there's a incredibly large amount of unfulfilled women, like walking around in our world. Now money is certainly not the only path to making people more fulfilled.

 

Right. And I'm certainly not saying that. But when somebody is able to, you know, and you have, you would, you would know about this too, right? Like entrepreneurship is potentially one of the most fulfilling things in the world. I think you get to create your own life, your own story, your own schedule, your own, everything.

 

And then to be able to be successful in that, which is the money coming back to you, like gives you control and autonomy over your life. And I believe that when you feel you have control and autonomy over your life, that is what creates fulfillment. And so on a really macro level, we need this and I'm going to like do my part to create it in my own small way, through a skill that I happen to have, which is Facebook ads.

 

Teresa: Yeah. Yeah. And I think one thing that's really interesting with this is. There's not only historic, the women have played a very different role and we had very different careers and very different looking lives and that sort of thing. But also the money thing in particular is really interesting in the fact of I've always, you know, when I was with my ex husband, I've always earned a good amount of money and more than he has.

 

And that is a really, sensitive subject. So you sent over, it was like, Oh, I've just set the light on the podcast, but it is not only for us, but males in our lives. And also, almost as if like we shouldn't that we're the breadwinner is the man. And it's a ridiculous concept that we're still, that is still a range, but.

 

But it is, you know, that is still most generation and other people's generation and some people today, that's still the, what they think. So even getting that confidence around, no, this is okay, this isn't about, that's your role and you should sit in that and earn whatever it is a case of you can do and be anything that you want to be.

 

Jennifer: Absolutely. I mean, it's, you know, one small thing inside of that, that I always feel really passionate about is I am incredibly vocal with my family, my friends, and my online world with like about how much money I'm making. I actually think it's really to each their own. Right. I'm not saying anyone has to.

 

Um, but for me that feels like a really good way of saying, Hey, y'all this is okay. Like, watch me look at me and let me be like the North star of, like we can have desires.

 

Teresa: Yeah.

 

Jennifer: Right around all things, but money and growth and our own like personal journeys. And, um, yeah, I just, I really look to like, be that example as much as possible.

 

Teresa: And that's the other thing as well that people in general, but particularly women, they don't want to have that money conversation. Like I am really open and I do, um, I have programs that, that obviously I work with business owners and, and there's one program that I have, which is a 90 day program, much more in depth, much more kind of.

 

You know, you're making a shift, this is going to move you. And one of the questions I'd get them to fill in this big, long questionnaire which is a pain, but it's important. And there are probably two or three questions actually in there that are directly ask them the money question. Literally. How much do you charge?

 

What do you earn? What do you spend? And it's like, and I know for some of them. Having to write that dime makes them feel really uncomfortable. And it's like, there's no judgment. I'm not here to go. Ooh. Is that all? Wow. It's it's. I need to understand these things in order to help you move forward. And do you know what inevitably, like there's a lady that I just started working with, uh, on the last 90 day, her, what she's charging, literally makes me on a week, but like it's ridiculous, and, and it's having that confidence to go. You know how good you are and what you're offering, you should be charging more than this, and I'm not always back there straight put your prices up. It's that's not always the case. But I do think particularly as women, there is an element of,

 

Oh, well, Kind of don't want to go and take that step or be that kind of brave about it. So, yeah. I love that. I love that. So tell me about the charity. Why, why was it? Cause we had not had many people or not have the experience of many people that do this. So what wanted to, why did you want to do this?

 

Jennifer: So many reasons. So, so, um, this was maybe, I don't know three years ago and I literally thought to myself, I want to be, you know, the business was growing, you're making more money.

 

I knew that having a philanthropic angle was always going to be a part of the business. We were getting to a place where I was able to make like decent sized contributions. And so I thought to myself, I really want to be able to do work specifically with the financial aspect of domestic violence. And I'm thinking.

 

There's nothing out there like that. I guess I have to, we create a charity, like that was literally the conversation, like, all right. I guess I'm going to have to create a...

In this week’s episode, I am going to be talking about getting in front of other people’s audiences to help build you, your business, your profile, your personal brand, and your social media. This is a particularly good strategy for small business owners as you are the face of your brand. We will be covering how you can do this, why you should do it, examples of what you can do, and getting over the fear of approaching someone else.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• Growing a business is a numbers game – you need to get more people to know who you are and look at what you do.
• The more people that know about you, the more potential customers.
• If you can get in front of someone else’s audience, you can promote who you are and what you do.
• You can help other people serve their audience through your expertise.
• This is a collaboration so you add value to them and their audience in return for exposure to their audience.
• Examples of ways you can get in front of people’s audiences: Podcasts, guest blogging, videos, vlogs, online events, networking groups, workshops, takeovers, and interviews.
• Don’t let the dear of someone say no put you off from approaching people – the worst thing that can happen is that they say no!
• If someone says no, ask for feedback.
• Set your goal as being a number of people you approach instead of the number of yes’s you get.
• Make a commitment every month to ask X amount of people.
• Try to pick people who serve the same audience you serve.
• Make sure you can add value to their audience – it has to be a good fit.
• Do your homework before approaching someone.
• Don’t let the size of someone’s audience put you off asking.
• Prepare a bio and headshot to send when they say yes.
• Have a good call to action such as social pages, lead magnets, podcast or website – think about where you are sending them.
• Promote all guest appearances on your own social media – this shows a lot to future people you work with.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…It will take time, you may get some rejections, but the more you do it, the more it will happen!HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• Why it is important to get in front of other people’s audiences – 04:51
• Ways to get in front of other people’s audiences – 07:40
• Getting over the fear – 09:57
• The process – 17:46

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

My 90 Day Programme

Apply to be on my podcast

DM me on Instagram

Want the transcript – click here

In this week’s episode, I have the lovely Amanda Jane Daley who is a leading business mentor for health coaches worldwide. We talk about how Amanda excelled her business in 12 months, why money mindset is so important and using Instagram to grow your business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• The more you put into your business, the more you get out.
• Sometimes it takes 2-3 years of learning before you start to see any difference.
• Deciding you are going to do something and just doing it will get you results.
• You have to have the confidence to invest in coaching, mentoring, your team and Facebook ads to get better results.
• Money mindset is what we believe around money.
• Every time you expand your view, ask yourself – is this true?
• An Olympic athlete doesn’t just wake up and win an Olympic Gold medal – they have to put the hard work in that no one sees.
• Money comes for a purpose.
• You can use Instagram to really tell a story and show your audience your journey.
• You need to tell people what you do and what you sell often on Instagram.
• Use Instagram to start conversations and build genuine connections.
• Make sure you are using Instagram DMs to speak directly with your audience and build relationships.
• You can reach anyone on Instagram, you can get to know people and build partnerships.
• Sharing other people’s posts on Instagram is a great opportunity to get in front of other people’s audiences.
• Tag other accounts on your Instagram stories and posts to gain exposure to potential new clients.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…If you are serious about growing your business, don’t just think about all the things you need to do, start doing them! Until you start to action these tasks, you won’t see any results.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• An Introduction to Amanda – 09:50
• Going from $35,000 to $330,000 in a year – 17:23
• Money Mindset – 29:10
• Using Instagram to grow your online business – 39:15
• 3 mistakes people make on Instagram – 41:08

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

My 90 Day Programme

Amanda Jane Daley Website

Amanda’s Challenge?

Amanda’s Money Mindset Book List:

• Love Money, Money Loves You – Sarah McCrum
• The Game of Life & How to Play It – Florence Scovel-Shinn
• The Science of Getting Rich – Wallace Wattles
• Think Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
• The Spiritual Guide to Attracting Prosperity – Carolyn Boyes
• How to be Wildly Wealthy Fast – Sandy Forester
• Leveraging the Universe – Mike Dooley
• The Law of Divine Compensation – Marianne Williamson
• Worthy: Boost Your Self-Worth to Grow Your Net Worth – Nancy Levin
• Super Rich – Russell Simmons
• Secrets of the Millionaire Minds – T. Harv Eker

Want the transcript – click here

This week’s episode is all about getting stuff done! I will be sharing with you planning, productivity and getting into a routine so that you work more efficiently and get more done!

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• Not every tool or technique will work for you, you have to find which one suits you best.
• Having a routine to your day really helps in terms of productivity.
• It is good to review your previous week so you can see what you achieved and what you can improve.
• The best thing to do is to be honest with yourself and hold yourself accountable.
• Be realistic about what you can achieve in your week, considering how much time you actually have.
• Planning your week ahead will help you to set realistic goals.
• Set your intentions for the day when you wake up.
• Try to think about your long term goals and envisage them.
• Journaling is great for thinking about how you feel and looking at it in a different way.
• A morning ritual is something you do before starting work.
• Try to plan out your day in 30 minute or hourly slots – be realistic.
• One touch process – if you pick something up, you don’t put it down until you have dealt with it.
• Try to put your phone on silent and be strict with yourself so you don’t get distracted.
• Batch your content so you are focused on one thing at a time – your headspace will work better.
• Start your next day’s “to do” list the day before.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…It does feel as though the majority of this year has been a little written off, but that doesn’t mean we have to write off the next few months. We just need to get back on it, get focused again and get this work done!HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T MISS

• Getting ready for the week ahead – 07:25
• Setting your big 3 goals for the week – 11:57
• Planning your day – 15:16

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner

5am Club Book

Miracle Morning Book

Morning Routine Podcast

Mary Hyatt YouTube for Meditation

Want the transcript – click here!

In this week’s episode I have the very lovely Ben Bellamy. Ben is a WordPress website creator who designs creative and modern websites for entrepreneurs. We talk all about websites, the key things you might be missing out on and how to convert prospects to customers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• Your website is your digital shop front.
• Don’t just rely on social media for your business, you need to utilise your website too.
• By having a website, you can attract customers from Google.
• Every service you offer should have a sales page – by the time someone reaches the end of that page, they should want to buy.
• Writing about ourselves is difficult, so it may be worth hiring a copywriter.
• Before working with a website creator, try to collate all the content so they can understand what you want to include on your website.
• Your website needs to incorporate your target customer, as well as you and your brand.
• Your website imagery is so important – work with a brand photographer that will represent you and hit your target audience.
• Give your audience a free opt in to grow your mailing list – share on your website to promote them.
• Add your awards, badges and social proof to your website – this builds trust.
• Make sure you include some testimonials on your website – this increases trust and customer belief in you.
• Website speed is SO important – it needs to be as fast as you can make it. Reduce file sizes of images and don’t use too many plugins.
• Show examples of your work on your website – give customers an idea of the amazing stuff you have done.
• Link to valuable resources on your website – shout about all the amazing tools you use and recommend – this shows that you know what you are talking about.
• ‘About’ pages on websites are one of the most visited – make sure yours has photos of you and it is personal.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…It is so important to not just rely on social media for your business, you need a website where you can talk about you, your brand and attract those all important customers.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN'T MISS

• An introduction to Ben 09:02
• Do I need a website? 09:37
• Brand disconnect 12:28
• The process of working with a website creator 18:35
• Working with WordPress 29:20
• Benefits of hiring a website creator 30:12
• The 90 day programme – Ben’s experience 39:05
• Website tips for converting your audience to customers 42:58

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE

Review my podcast

Ben’s Website

Winning website formula that converts your audience in to customers download

90 Day Full Focus Academy

My Brand New Website!

Elementor Pro

Sales Page Download

Transcript below

 

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. How are you doing on this very fine day? You know what you think at episode 132, having done this once or twice before that I would have the intro.

So totally so not now, but I totally don't. Every time I start, this is about the fourth attempt I've made at doing this intro because it's really weird, but I hate doing that first bit. And then once I start and start talking, that's it. Then I can talk with Britain, not a problem, but yeah, that first bit always gets me.

So couple of things I need to update you on. First thing is. And I don't ask very often and I'm hoping you'll be very kind to me. That's I'm just going to ask you straight out. If you haven't yet reviewed the podcast or subscribed, or it's your first time, then please, please, please. Could you go over to iTunes?

And what you have to do is you have to find the podcast either by my name or Marketing That Converts. You click on the podcast and they have to scroll to the bottom of that page on your phone. And then that's where the reviews will be. And you hit five stars and then you add a comment and you write what you think of the podcast.

I'd be so very grateful if you did that. Had a dream last night, actually that someone gave me a one star. And I think it was because I gave a wine a one star and the owner came back to ask me, why would you have felt really bad about it actually, but I just didn't like it. Anyway um, maybe I have another one star in the podcast I need to check mine. But yes, if you wouldn't mind, that would be amazing only because obviously the promotion of the podcast is actually a really hard thing to promote as in, a podcast is like not an easy thing to advertise and get people immediately signing up and listening. So the reviews really help my rankings and obviously the rankings help when people are looking for a marketing podcast. So if you do enjoy it and you don't mind spending three minutes today doing something for me.

I would appreciate that. So very, very much. Thank you. Okay. The next update, before we get on today's interview, which is good one, um, is that my 90 day program is reopening in September. Now, if you don't know what the 90 day program is, let me explain. So the 90 day program is for very go getting ambitious entrepreneurs, business owners that want to take their business forward fast.

So you've got an idea in your head or you're going to do a launch or you've just created something or you want to create something and you need to really step up and take the next level in your business. So you might have already been part of a membership. You might have already downloaded some courses and you know what, it's just not moving fast enough.

And I can tell you absolutely a hundred percent why there's no accountability. So I have been in many group programs, I've been in amazing group programs with huge, huge people. As I've talked about many, a time on the podcast, I have paid lots and lots of money to do these things, but they were group programs and therefore I wasn't held accountable enough and being like a petulant child that sometimes I am. I just didn't do the work, which obviously there, that is not a smart move Teresa. You just spent all this money and maybe you didn't do the work cause you shouldn't have done. Anyway the only person I consistently show up for, to do with my own stuff is my coach Mary. Because Mary sets me work and I don't want to let her down. So I've been running a 90 day program now for probably the last six months.

And I have had lots and lots of amazing business owners and entrepreneurs going through it. So people who have done their first ever launch of their membership, and crushed it like hundreds of members. People who have literally had an idea and we've got it off the ground and launched it and sold it and they've got people in their programs. People who needed to stop consistent content and through the support of the 90 day program, they managed to create a podcast and start a new podcast. So this is really for people who are ready to take the next level. And the cost for this is higher than my Academy way higher than the Academy. Because part of the 90 day program is you get to be in a very small group of people. So no more than 10 in any one 90 day program.

And then you get one-to-one calls with me as part of that program. So, if you are interested, if you think this is something that you might want to do. The cost of this is $2,500. Okay. And this is only going to be for this one program. And for a matter of days, that it's going to be this cost because the cost is going to go up.

But if you think you are ready to take the next step. If you're scared that $2,500 scares you, good! Because honestly, I only do stuff where I've put skin in the game, money on the table. Cause then I make sure I do the work. So if you're interested head over to teresaheathwareing.com/90day not days, day.

Okay. And there is a option to join the waiting list. And as soon as I open the doors and have my next intake of 90 day students, then you will be the first to know. And like I said, if the price scares you, good. I want people who are going to commit and do the work. I want people who are sat there thinking I've got an amazing product or service.

Why is no one buying it? Why can't I get in front of my customers? Why did the ads not work? Why is it that people aren't opting into my lead magnet? So if you're sat there thinking that's me, then this is absolutely for you. Okay on with today's interview. So last week I shared the news that I had got a new website and I had worked with one of my amazing Academy members who is also a 90 day member.

And he has helped design and create my new website, which I love. So if you haven't checked it out, do you go check it out. But I thought it would be great to have him on just to give some advice about sites. About some of those key things that you might be missing out on in terms of getting your customers who are viewing the site to actually convert, to become customers.

Did I say customers to convert, to become customers? If I may, if I said that I meant prospects, you know, I meant, okay. So today I interviewed the lovely Ben Bellamy. Do you know what? I've just tried to read his bio twice, I messed it every time I hate reading on the podcast. Let me try again. He's a WordPress, a website creator who designs creative and modern websites for entrepreneurs who wants to raise their revenue and create customers. Ben is the range of talented business owners on their websites. And in turn has helped them transform their brands to position them as experts in that respective industry. There we go. Finally got it out. Ben was at absolute pleasure to work with. He really did understand what I wanted from a website. And I'm really happy to welcome him onto the podcast to give you some practical takeaway things that you can do for your website to ensure that it is converting those prospects into customers. So here is today's interview.

So I am very excited today to welcome the very lovely Ben Bellamy to the podcast. Welcome Ben!

Thank you for having me.

My pleasure. We're laughing because I just really messed up and we just have to start again. And I said, not a word. So we deleted that so we could spare your ears of my bad language.

So, Ben it's on the podcast today because as I said in the intro, I have been working with Ben to create my brand new site, which I told you about last week. And I just thought it would be great to get Ben on because I know that, and as I don't talk about it very often, but once sites are crazy, crazy important.

And I actually, when I was doing the site and when I approached Ben and said, you know what, let's, let's bring you on, have a chat with, with each other about it. I've thought to myself, God there's hardly any episodes that really address websites. So I'm really, really excited about today. But Ben let's start off as I always do.

And, you know, cause you listen to the podcast and introduce yourself to my audience and let them know how you got doing what you're doing today.

So, um, so my name is Ben. Uh, I am a WordPress website designer. I work with entrepreneurs all around the world, helping them with their websites and in turn, helping them raise their revenue and create

customers.

Fab! And you

did it so very succinctly.

So obviously in the days of social media that we are in now, when I first started marketing, which is a really long time ago. I remember people saying to me, do we really need a website? And it was like, yeah, she really do. And now we get, well, we did used to get the, do I really need social media? Yes, you do.

But it's almost had a really. All this amazing tech and this amazing social media, we've got now. I think has almost had a negative effect on sites and the fact that people maybe think they don't need them anymore. Do you think that's the case?

Yes, absolutely. It's the same principle, as we're told to build our mailing list because we don't own our own social media.

And so, um, for that fact, we should also very much be paying attention to our websites. Um, we shouldn't just rely on having social media. Our websites are our digital shopfront. It's where it's the best one, the best tools that we have within our sales kits. So we should be utilizing our websites. And not only that, but to attract people through Google as well.

Um, if that's relevant to your business is also really good customer stream. Um, so we kind of do, I think definitely at the moment, there's a lot of heavy focus on spending time on social media. Um, and I think, I think we definitely have to consider our websites as well.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think you just had a couple of things there by it's your shopfront and, and it absolutely is.

And you know what, prior to COVID I would have said to some people, "Well, actually you can get away with it because you physically have a shopfront." Or that's not the way people find you or look for you or whatever. But the truth is now, everybody is online, whether they think they're an online business or not, they need an online presence.

And especially what COVID has taught us is we have to be flexible and quickly jump online and change things and move things or whatever. And interestingly enough, on, I don't know whether you saw this in your business, but I know for sure it happened with lots of people that I spoke to. They went back to their web developers at that point and went, "Oh, I need to change this.

I need to add this. I need to move this. I need to", did you get much of that? When that happened?

Massively! Over the last four or five months, I've spoken to so many different business owners who, um, a lot of them for the most part have never done any kind of form of social media. Um, lots didn't have a website. And, most people were relying on word of mouth, recommendations and regular customers. And then of course lockdown happens. It gets to the point of thinking, "Oh, my customers stream has suddenly disappeared. I need to start thinking about my digital presence and so very much so I had a lot a loss of that."

Yeah, and I did, I saw it lots and I saw people adding e-commerce parts on their site payments.

And that's sort of thing because they never had it before. But for me, and the reason I want to do this episode so much is one, we've got some great tips later for a winning formula to convert people from just kind of visiting our site to actual customers, which is great. And Ben's going to talk us through that, but I've always been a big advocate for having a good site. Because obviously inevitably, one of the first things people do is they'll Google you. And even if they find you through a social media platform, that the chances are they're going to go and look at your site. And for me, it was so important that it looked good. That it represented me well. I didn't want someone to go to a site and think, "Oh, Like she doesn't know what she's talking about" and granted I'm in this space, so it'd be pretty awful if I didn't have a nice site. But I know I've gone to websites and I've been totally put off.

They could be the best company in the world. And I take one, look at their site. It's either out a day. It doesn't work properly. Links are broken, all these kinds of things that really affect how good a site is. And I've immediately thought, no, I'm not signing for that. And you're gonna see that all the time.

Yeah, absolutely. I see a lot of disconnect between people's lovely Instagram pages and it's all very well curated. They've got that brand coloring their fonts. Everything's really nice and pretty. Um, and then you go to their website or even sometimes I will say people's landing pages. If they necessarily don't use the website, maybe they use a landing page tool.

Um, there's a big brand disconnect. And so that really impacts the customer journey. Um, especially as people will follow you on social media to spend time with you there.

But

when they actually want to buy from you, chances are they're going to be looking at your website and they're going to come back and look at your website, and then they're going to look again.

And so it's really important that probably the same amount of time you're putting into social media, you should really be looking and putting time into your website. I've known some business owners who will launch their website and then it will sit there for maybe one, two years and they do nothing with it.

And it's a living, breathing thing. Really. You have to take care of it.

You know what? I'm so glad you brought that up. Cause when I was about to go, obviously I've sat here. Like yeah, I've got my lovely, shiny new website. It's so beautiful, looking after it for me. But the truth was when Ben came well, when we started working together, when I spoke to Ben.

My site was sat doing nothing for about two years and it was a beautiful site. And then funny thing, I always got my compliments on it, even up to like the last few months. But it didn't, it didn't work. It didn't represent me anymore. And that's again, like the other thing. Cause Ben and I have this discussion about, cause the other thing that I need to tell you is that Ben's in the 90 day program with me and we'll talk a bit about that as well.

But so in our discussions in the 90 day program, we talk about the fact of people will see Ben's role and Ben's business as a project. Right? As I did okay. I saw my website as "I need a new website. Let's just get this product done. Website's live projects done." Don't you think about it anymore? And obviously that's the problem.

That's why two years down the line, I've got a website that doesn't represent me and who I am right now that doesn't show me off in the best light. But I look at it and I kind of cringe because I've just paid no attention to it. And actually, Ben is working hard to reeducate me and in turn were looking at how Ben's business can reeducate lots of business owners to say, like you said, that the site is a living breathing thing.

And actually it belongs to us, it's very static. And when you do look at how much effort people put into their Instagram, and so creating content, actually the site gets forgotten about, and it really, really

shouldn't.

Yeah, absolutely. Um, it's so important. Uh, and I think that people would be surprised actually, when you look at revenue, how much extra money they would make, if they invested some time and a bit of money into their website. Um, I think people would be really surprised at what they could have, what they could achieve.

Hmm. And one thing I want to say as well is that, you know, the listeners know that I use landing pages, okay. So when you go and check out the Academy, that's a landing page. When you, when you go and get one of my downloads, that's the landing page. Also, I'm really heavy on social media. So you might sit there and want to look at my website.

That's by the way, it's...

In this week’s episode I want to talk to you about outsourcing and bringing on a virtual assistant. I’m going to tell you all the benefits of bringing on a virtual assistant, and how it will actually make you more money.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• If you are doing a task in your business more than twice, you shouldn’t be doing it.
• Every time you are doing a task that you don’t have to do in your business, you are paying your hourly rate.
• If a task is not your zone of genius or it is a process, you don’t have to do it!
• You do not have to do everything in your business.
• In the UK, you can expect to pay anything from £25-£40 per hour for a VA depending on experience. In the Philippines, you can expect to pay between $5-$15 per hour.
• You don’t have to have a full time VA, they can do as many hours as you need.
• VAs can get things done so much quicker than you can.
• Different people can do different things, no one can do absolutely everything.
• You have to make sure you are managing your team and giving them enough work to do.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…You do not have to do EVERYTHING in your business, you can outsource it. Whilst they are doing those tasks, you can focus on the things that only you can do.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN'T MISS

• What is a virtual assistant? 05:00
• You do not have to do everything! 05:35
• My VA experience 12:00
• Hiring a Filipino VA 13:42
• The cost of hiring a VA 19:20
• Working with a VA 23:56

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE

Ben Bellamy 

Katie Podcast Episode

Philippines Online Jobs

Slack

Loom

Transcript below

 

Hi and welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. How are you doing? So I just want you to pitch it for a second. I'm sat in my office, windows open. I've got a fan that blaring at my feet. I'm hoping you can't hear that too much.

And I'm slowly melting. Now I am really not one to complain about the weather, but I just really struggle when it's humid. I love the heat. I don't like sitting in my office melting and slowly my makeup falling off my face because it's so warm. So that's where I am today. Recording this podcast episode.

And I'm recording it late again. The team are so very kind and gracious to me because obviously these last few weeks have been somewhat crazy and hectic, and I am still only just getting back into the swing of things. But the other thing that's happened is obviously when mum was poorly and died and obviously I'm seeing my dad an awful lot, make sure he's okay.

I was basically putting everything on hold. So there was calls. I should have done interviews. I should have done me being interviewed and all these various things. And now of course, I've pushed them all back and they're all in my diary at once. So my days, are crazy busy as well as I've literally just come back from seeing my dad just to make sure he's all good.

So it has been a little bit of a busy few weeks, but I'm hoping now to get ahead, which would be good. However, during this crazy time, something kind of cool has finished. A project has finished for us here. And that is my new website. Now I am a huge advocate of you still having a website it's still really, really important.

And next week, we've got an interview where we talk about websites and we talk about some of the things that you want to do to ensure, to convert people when they're on your site. But I'm a huge advocate for it. And I've always had someone do my website for me, because as you will know, I am not that techie.

So a website is definitely not something I would do for fun. So I've been working with the very lovely Ben Bellamy and he has created me a beautiful site, which I love, and I've done lots of different things to this site. So for instance, my speaker page goes into loads of detail of my, about page is my story now.

Um, so if you didn't know my story, then you'll get to hear that. And there's lots of, kind of, um. There's lots of like little features and things that I didn't have before. So I'm really pleased with it. I love it. Please do go check it out. I'd love to hear what you think. So that would be fab. Okay. So that's pretty cool.

We got that done. Cause it didn't feel like I was going to get that done that while everything else was going on. And actually this is kind of like a good, a good time to talk about today's topic. Because as I said, I got someone else to do my site. Because I do not have the skills and yes, I could learn them because we're in a world where we have Google and it can teach us anything.

However, I don't have the time or the inclination to do either of those things. So it made perfect sense for me to outsource that. To pay someone who does know what they're talking about. Do know what they're doing and get them to do the work that I would take forever to do, and it probably would have been dreadful.

And that's what I want to talk to you about today. I want to talk to you about outsourcing and in particular, talk to you about bringing on a virtual assistants. And I'm going to be real teachery today, and I'm going to like go a really firm hardline with you because I see obviously businesses all the time.

I speak to entrepreneurs all the time and I see that basically. They are nervous or they have a load of reasons why they can't bring on a virtual assistant. Mostly down to "I can't afford it". But today I want to talk to you about how not only bringing on a virtual assitant will be amazing, but also how it will actually help you make more money.

So this episode is very, very much in praise to my amazing assistants that work with me and almost like an odd to them. And both of them have dealings with the podcast. So both of them will listen to this. And I want them to know that they are a massive, massive support in my world. And my business would not be the business is today without having my systems that I've had.

So let's get started with this. So let's just talk about what a virtual assistant is just in case you didn't know. So virtual assistant is basically someone that works with you in your business from a virtual place, obviously. So they don't have to be in the same room in the same town or even the same country.

And they work alongside you to do specific tasks and things. Now. There is a saying out there that basically says, I think James Wedmore originally said it to me that "If you are doing something in your business, more than twice the same task, you shouldn't be doing it". And I want you just to, I'm jumping around here a bit, but actually it's something just coming to my head.

I want you to think about what's your hourly rates. Okay. So I don't know whether you've given that any thoughts since you have your own business and no one is actually paying you by the hour. And if they are paying you by the hour, it's when you're specifically doing something for that person. And therefore you might not be getting a full time salary being paid by the hour.

But I want you to think about what you actually charging at your time outs. And then I want you to think what if you had to pay that every time you sat and did a task that you didn't need to do? What if I had to pay someone my rate, every time I wanted to mess around in Canva for a few hours now I do love messing around in Canva.

So the thing is, I don't even give that to anybody. I like to do it, but I do it in an evening while I'm half watching the telly and having a glass of wine. And therefore, I don't feel too guilty about that. But, I want you to think of it that way. I want you to think about every time you are doing a task that you do not have to do in your business.

What if you had to pay yourself your hourly rate and I mean, your good hourly rate. I don't mean the hourly rate that you like, "Well, you know, and probably there's", I mean, this is what I should be charging hourly rate. So that's the first thing I want you to think about. Like I said, if you have to pay it for it, that would be a lot of money for you to mess around on Canva, if that's your thing.

Okay. The next thing I want you to think about is when you went into business, you went into business because you, you are really good at a particular thing. The thing that you sell, the thing, that's your service. You are really good at that thing. And that's why you went into business. So I went into business for myself because I kick butt up marketing. Okay. And I'm feeling really empowered cause I've just finished reading the Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. And basically we need to like be our own biggest cheerleader. So I am going to be blazing and say, I am amazing at marketing. I've spent my entire career. Doing marketing, talking about marketing, helping businesses with marketing, making huge mistakes in marketing.

So I am really good at what I do. I know I am. So I get into this business and I think brilliant. How hard can this be? I'm an expert in marketing and that's then my business. I'm going to help people with marketing. Yeah. But that doesn't mean I can run a business that doesn't mean I need to do admin. That doesn't mean I need to do finance hate finance.

It doesn't mean I know how to do all those other bits of my business. And not only, even if I do know it, even if I do know how to complete a process for the podcast or do something else that is, you know, something that isn't doing marketing, that's not my zone of genius. That's not where I am best spent.

It's like having a whole team of people and giving, I don't know, the chef and getting the chef to go and plaster your walls or, you know, getting a marketing person to go and do some HR. It's just not our bag. It's not our thing. So we are not the most efficient and effective people to do this. So that's the other thing I want you to think about that you, this is not your job.

You shouldn't be doing this. This should be someone else. And again, I know you're saying, but I can't afford this. I can't afford this. Bear with me on that. Okay. So, like I said, first thing, your hourly rate, if you had to pay yourself, that would be a very expensive member of staff. Secondly, this isn't your zone of genius.

This isn't what you should be doing. And thirdly, if it's a process, you don't have to do it. So if it's a process, anybody can follow that process as long as you make it clear enough. And that's what I want you to think about because the other thing that people often think when they talk about getting a virtual assistant is, "Well, what would I get them to do?"

And you're kind of in your head think, "Well, I'm not sure what I'd get him to do. So I don't know that I need one." Oh, believe me, the minute you get one, and then you start realizing actually you could do this. And actually you could do that. It suddenly takes a whole host of work off your desk. Which in turn, this is where the, it will make you more money.

You get time free to do what you're brilliant at doing, or do the things in your business that really moves the needle. So for instance, creating the podcast, I can't get anybody else to do that. It has to be my voice. It has to be me and therefore I have no choice, but okay. This week is different because things have been up in the air, but normally I'm way ahead on this. You know?

I don't want to be trying to like scramble around on a Thursday, which I'm doing today in order to get it out for Monday. I want to make sure I've got more than enough time to create really well crafted podcast episodes. I want to make sure that I've got the time to reach out, to flipping amazing people that you will love to listen to.

And honestly, only I can do that. That's got to be me. So therefore I need to have the time to do that. I don't need to edit the podcast. I don't need to write the show notes, I'd be horrendous at both of those jobs, to be honest. Uh, so you'd have a terrible experience. If I did it, I don't need to schedule the social media posts or create the social media posts. Because some of those things are one, not my zone of genius and two a process. And once we've worked out the process, I don't need to do it. What I should be doing is focusing on creating more amazing content for the Academy or doing a coaching call with the Academy or marketing my 90 day program, which is coming up starting September.

And I'd like you to come and join me. And I'll tell you more about that at some point. But that's where I excelled. That's where I'm good in my business. And you are good at the particular thing that you do. So for instance, you might be a personal trainer. You are good at personal training that does not mean you are brilliant at scheduling social media posts.

You might be a jewelry maker. You are brilliant at that. That does not mean that you are perfect at putting your regular content out there and turning it into a blog. You know what I mean? It's you don't know, need to feel like you have to do everything. So as if I haven't convinced you enough, let me talk some of the details.

So I want to tell you about my VA experience because I've had a few, not that as in, I go through them as, and they still work for me, I've just added to them. So my first VA it was Katie. Who's been on the podcast. We'll link up to that. So you can go listen to her. And she turned out to be way more than a VA in the sense of, she initially marketed herself as a VA, but this woman had got the most amazing experience. She've got lots of different stuff that she could support me with that actually got to the point where Katie became more of like an online business strategist. So she would help me, almost be my light, you know, right arm. And we would talk about where the business was going and what we were doing and building the team and that sort of thing.

So Katie very much and very quickly became not what I would call a traditional VA and Katie charged a fair bit because of that fact, because Katie is based in the UK, Katie has a huge amount of different experiences and she was doing tasks that were very kind of, I'm trying to choose my words really careful.

Cause I don't want it to sound like the other VA tasks aren't important. Cause they're crazy important. But she was doing more strategic stuff. Okay. So that was Katie. That's why I initially bought on. And I worked the Katie for years and years and years, and it was wonderful. She's great. And she did obviously do some of the more process type tasks, some of the more helping me out type tasks.

So Katie would reply to emails for me. She would organize interviews. She would almost travel if I wanted that. But to be honest, sometimes like things like that, because I would be so picky about what time I wanted to go and what seat the I wanted. And so I would just do those things myself. So then we had the podcast and we worked at the process of the podcast and I knew that it would be really helpful if someone could do it.

And I knew that wasn't Katie, because I didn't want to pay Katie to do the podcast because it would have been very expensive. And I didn't need someone at her level because like I said, she really is now of more consultant type level. So I started looking for a VA and I used a company, which I will link up to here in the show notes.

I'm going to have to check what it's called. I think it's Filipino online, I think. But check in the show notes, I'll put the link. And I use that company and basically I went on and posted a job. Now you have to pay to post a job, but to pay, to post a job, I think it was like $60 a month. And I only had it up for a month and then I removed it and I stopped paying.

So I only paid them $60 to advertise this, this role. So. I put the role up there. And I thought about prior to putting the roll up there, I started writing down, well, one, I knew how to process that one, but I would say to you to do is write down when you are doing something more than once. So are you constantly doing the same sort of thing?

So if you do a blog, you obviously need to upload the blog. You need to choose a picture. You need to maybe do the SEO bit. You are you doing that on a regular basis? Cause if you are, should you really be doing that? Does it need your input to do that every time? But, like I said, I've got a process for the podcast.

I knew that's what we wanted to work on. So I put an advert out there and I actually said, I want some for social media and VA skills and what I did. And it was a great tip that I picked up again from James Wedmore. Cause he's a big advocate of using Filipino VAs and you don't specifically have to use a Filipino VA.

I'm just talking about my experience. Like I said, I've got Katie in the UK and then I've got now two from the Philippines. But basically his suggestion was that when you put your posts stop, because you're going to get a lot of applications, put something in the middle of the post, that's a little bit different.

So for instance, in the middle of my advert, I put "When you apply for this role, I'd like you to tell me, what's your favorite quote or share your favorite meme? Or your funny joke." Or something like that? Because what happened was when I'm then inundated, which I was because there is lots of amazing skillful people who are looking for roles.

When I was inundated, I basically looked at the application if they didn't include that thing. I immediately dismissed them. Because you get loads. So you've got to find a way of immediately reducing those numbers down. And in all honesty. If they can't read the application and do what I ask in the first point, then it's not going to be great from there.

So once I had a few people to look at, I went and looked at their profiles. I went and looked at what they were charging in terms of hourly rate, because I let them give me their hourly rate. I looked at their skills. On this website it gives you their level of written and verbal English. So I obviously wanted high levels of them.

So communication would be good. And basically I, I went and had look at some people and I found sort of two or three people that I thought you looked really good. Contacted them and asked them. No, I think actually, sorry. Before two or three people, I emailed probably about 15 people, some questions. So the reason behind this was one, I wanted to know things like, "What would you do if you couldn't get something back to me time? How do you manage?" You know, "When you're a bit stressed", what is, Oh, what else did I put on there?

Um, "What do you like on weekend? What do you love doing? What do you hate doing?" Just so I can get an idea of like the person they were and again, so I could see their written English, see how well they understood me. So all those people came back. It was all perfect. Understood, absolutely fine. Not a problem.

And I ended up picking it up two or three and then I gave them a paid task. So I said to them, "Regardless of what happens? I will pay you five hours." So they knew that they weren't just giving me or doing a task and I...

This week’s episode I have an interview with the lovely Sonia Thompson who is a customer experience strategist and consultant and CEO of Thompson Media Group. We are going to be talking all about the Black Lives Matter movement and how we can ensure we are doing everything we can in our business marketing to be inclusive.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• As much as we focus on speaking to the right person, we also need to make sure we are not putting anyone off as well.
• Ask yourself: Am I being inclusive to everyone this is suitable for?
• You can’t serve everyone, but you need to be intentional about who you want to serve and who you don’t.
• Create an inclusive environment where customers who do have special requirements don’t feel they have to ask and stand out.
• It is sometimes worse to not say anything or acknowledge something is happening.
• It is better to be the business that acknowledges something is going on, that the one that says nothing.
• If you make a statement, it needs to relate to your value and how your business operates. You need to really truly believe in what you are saying.
• It’s ok if you haven’t got it right in the past, just acknowledge this and how you are going to move forward.
• It is important to have conversations with people if you don’t understand something due to never experiencing it.
• Diversify your circle of influence – Make sure the voices you are listening to are all different to give you a broader view of the world.
• Re-evaluate your customer avatar – If you limit and define your avatar, you could be leaving out a big group of people who may have the same pain points and needs.
• Commit to representation – Your customers need to see themselves and who they aspire to be in your marketing and business.
• Make cultural intelligence a priority – If you don’t have an understanding or appreciation for other cultures, it can be very easy to say the wrong thing and potentially offend.
• Take an audit of your customer experience – Go through your customer journey and think about the signals you want to send out.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…It is better to try and potentially get it wrong, rather than say nothing at all. This isn’t just for now, this is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed and things need to change.HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN'T MISS

• An Introduction to Sonia – 07:01
• Being Inclusive in Marketing – 10:22
• The Inclusivity Spectrum – 14:20
• Mistakes We Can Learn From – 19:20
• 5 Steps to a More Inclusive Business – 27:50

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE

• Sonia's site
• LinkedIn
• Freebie

Transcript below

 

Hello and welcome back to this week's episode of the podcast. How are you doing? So thank you so much, firstly, for all the lovely comments and DMs and things after last week's episode, it was a slightly odd episode.

Uh, I am very happy to say that I am much more on the mend and have enjoyed being back in the swing of things of work, which is lovely. And I know it seems like, I dunno, is it sad or is it, you know, not good for me? And people will be like, "Oh, you should be resting." But the fact is I love work. It makes me truly happy.

So actually I am more than happy to be back. I'm more than happy to be sat at my desk, which I enjoy very much. Maybe I should get a hobby. Um, anyway, this week we have great episode and I don't mind telling you that I was a bit nervous about doing this episode. So obviously you'll be aware that some months back there was a awful lot of press and news around the black lives matter movements.

And there was a big thing on social media putting up black squares and people sort of commenting things. And if I'm totally honest, there was a real nervousness around it in terms of what people were saying and doing, and were they doing the right thing or not doing the right thing? And I have to say I was one of those people that was also really nervous.

I didn't want to make a mistake and I didn't want to do something that potentially could be seen the wrong way or, or not do something. And it was a really, really tricky situation to get right. But I knew that I had not educated myself enough. I knew that I had not surrounded myself enough in this situation, in, in the circle of friends, in various different things.

And that I had to change that and that I had to make a conscious effort to ensure that I understood what was going on. So obviously I did things in my personal life where I watch things on Netflix and I read things. And, and to be honest, I didn't post these on social media because I didn't, it again, it's really tricky cause I didn't want it to look like, look, "I'm just watching this thing and reading this thing because of social media and now I've ticked this box."

I really didn't want it to be like that. So I didn't say that I'd been educating myself, but I was educating myself. And then I was very keen looking inwardly at my own business that actually I need to make some changes in my business as well. And in terms of what circle of influence I had got and who had come on the podcast and what guests I'd interviewed.

And I knew that I wanted to interview someone who could talk about this, who could advise us as small businesses as to how we can bring this in. Because I've been at talks before. And I've been in conferences before where there's been a speaker, who's talked about inclusion and they've tended to talk about big businesses and big companies and TV advertising and, and, you know, using actors and that sort of thing.

And I knew that that just wouldn't work. So I wanted to find someone that could really talk to you guys as business owners and help us become more inclusive. Not only with the black lives matter movement, but also inclusive in every way. And I basically, some has stumbled across this very lovely lady called Sonia Thompson, who actually ended up being on Amy Porterville's podcast.

And I listened to it and I was like, do you know what you have just hit the nail fully on the head. This is exactly what I think I need for my audience. So I reached out to her and she very kindly said she would come on the podcast. So I have recorded an interview with the very lovely Sonia Thompson. She is a customer experience strategist and consultant and CEO of Thompson Media Group, where she helps companies deliver inclusive and remarkable customer experiences that win customers, she also writes a weekly column for Forbes and Ink. This woman knows her stuff where she covers high belonging, inclusive marketing, and remarkable customer too serious. I'll try that again. Remarkable customer experiences, fuel growth and customer loyalty. So honestly, could that bio read. Any better for what I need for what you guys need and something that is going to help us all.

She was so lovely to talk to. And I said to her that I was nervous and I didn't want to make a mistake. I didn't want to get it wrong. And she really helped me understand as to how we can confidently go out into our businesses and ensure that we are doing everything that we can do to be inclusive in our marketing.

And she was great to talk to. I had a lovely, lovely chat with her, so I really hope you enjoy this week's episode and get, get lots from it. And I can't wait to hear what you think.

Okay. I am so excited today to welcome Sonia Thompson to the podcast. Welcome Sonya, how are you doing?

I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me.

My absolute pleasure. So I am really excited about today's episode because I love it when I interview someone where I need to learn. Okay. And I like it when I can act stupid because I, I am as much learning as my listeners. So for me today, I am ready to suck up as much information as possible in order to improve.

Not only for my listeners, how they can become more inclusive, but also for myself. Because I think as business owners, you do have lots of things to think about and you have to juggle lots of things. But I think what's happened recently is so important for us to sit and go, actually, am I really being, you know, you might feel like you're not being.

It's sort of excluding people, but the sheer fact that you're not including them is probably just as bad as the fact that you're not going this isn't for you type thing. So I'm really excited about today's episode, but you are, you're actually your background and where you've come from, what you do is also very apt for us and what we do here.

So please tell my audience, guess, haven't heard of you where you came from, what you've done and how you got to be doing what you're doing right now.

Sure. Uh, so I worked a corporate job for what nine years. Um, and I worked in healthcare and marketing. And, like most people I realized in the first year that corporate life was not for me.

Um, but I kept making excuses and I ended up staying for nine years. Right. Um, and, um, but the good news is while I was there, I picked up some great skills. Great built a great network that really helped me. Um, whenever I left and to start my own business. Um, I really wanted to, my goal was to help entrepreneurs, um, in the, in the realm of customer delight and customer experience. That is always where, I've you know been excited about talking, um, in, in have loved it whenever I've been delighted by a business and been frustrated whenever I've gone to a business that had so much potential, but they just, the owners struggled with the business part of running a business.

Right. So, yeah. I just kind of made it hard to be a customer. So anyway, I did that. Um, I left my job. I quit my job. And spends a lot of time, um, working on learning concept marketing. So as a way to sort of build up and have people learn more about me. So along the way, um, I ended up writing for a bunch of different publications.

So right now I have a column in Ink. I have a column in Forbes. I write for a number of different publications and, um, I do my consulting work. Where I, um, help businesses, um, enhance their customer experience. Um, and that includes making sure that their marketing is inclusive. Um, so that, because that of course is part of the customer experience.

Cause a lot of businesses don't really realize that they're sending signals along their customer journey that is pushing customers away rather than saying you are welcome here and letting them know that they belong here. Um, and that became sort of a passion project for me. Um, not a project, but just sort of an area of a great interest for me because I've got a lot of differences. I'm a black woman. Um, I followed a gluten free diet. I'm lefthanded. I'm an expat. I live in Argentina rather than the US. Um, recently, now, like I got married here, so my husband is Argentine. So we're in a mixed race, mixed cultural marriage. We just had a baby and now we have a mixed daughter who's going to be bilingual.

And cross-cultural like, so there's all these differences that we have. And I encounter businesses differently because I don't neatly fit into the mainstream. So as a result, there are plenty of times where I feel like I don't belong and I am ecstatic whenever I encounter a business that went out of their way, or they clearly decided that they wanted to make sure that I, in whatever it was difference was felt included and felt like.

You know, they saw me, they got me and they wanted to make sure that they adapted their experience or they not adapted. They built their experience in a way that made sure that it would work for

me.

And do you know what, there's so many things about your story and about what you just said that really kind of hit me in terms of you talked about.

What you're doing to push your customer away. And we often talk about, and when I talk about creating your perfect avatar, finding that perfect customer, I say to my audience, you need to write for them like you're in their head. You know? So there's a lot of work we do around attracting that right person.

Right.

But in the same breath, we're not checking while we're doing that. We're not putting off the right person as well. So rather than just thinking of it as a, you know, am I getting to the right person? It's almost like, but am I being inclusive to everyone that this is suitable for rather than just one person.

Right.

And the thing is. You can't serve everybody. And I'm not suggesting that you serve everybody. It's more that you are intentional about who you want to serve and who you aren't serving. So for instance, there's a lot of, um, businesses who will say, okay, we serve women. Right. But, um, and they want to make sure that they have a business that is very welcoming to women.

Okay. So we're gonna actively repel men. That's okay. We're making that choice, but there's a lot of different nuances in women, right. So, um, you know, are there types of women that you are sending these unconscious signals or are unknowingly sending these signals that your business isn't for them. Even though they can fit your avatar perfectly in terms of the psychographics, but when it comes to those demographics. And demographics are important, because they impact the way someone receives your messages, they impact the way someone sees and views the world. Right. And so, because of that, um, you just need to make sure that you're being specific about who are the different types of women that you want to serve and making sure that you are adjusting your avatar accordingly and adjusting the way in which you send those signals out to make sure that they do feel welcome.

Yeah. Yeah. And the other thing I love that you said, one of the things you talked about is the fact that you're gluten free, which I know Whiteside really silly that we've come on and have this conversation.

Yeah. Because obviously there's been and rightly so a huge, surge of, of awareness and knowledge around the black lives matter movement. Which is so, so important, which is obviously why I've looked at me and what I do and gone. Oh, actually, I've got a lot to learn here. Um, but also the fact that when we talk about being inclusive, we, we are talking about lots of things.

I have a brother who's special needs that I have, you know, family that, you know, I've got different needs and different wants and that sort of thing. And like said I can relate to the gluten free thing. And what's really interesting cause I've listened to some episodes, some different interviews that Sonia has already done.

And you mentioned in one of them that having to go to a restaurant and go I'm gluten free. Right? I hate it! And you know what happens, right. We went out for dinner just the other day, because although we're still in some kind of lockdown, the restaurants have opened again. And we went out for dinner and I was sat off as, at the time of my husband and this woman, the waitress comes over and she's like, "is there any allergies that I need to know about?"

And I'm celiac. So it's like, I absolutely can't have gluten and, um. Anyway and I'm like, "no, no."

What is wrong with you? And it's

like, do you know what? I just look at the menu. And I was just like, guess what's gluten-free. Cause I don't want to make a fuss about, I don't want to stand down and I don't want to be one of those people that, you know, they find it annoying because they're going to have to make an allowance for it, you know?

Right. There's this, um, I have this thing called the inclusivity spectrum, um, and I can create something for your audience if they want to find out where their business falls in the

inclusivity.

That would be amazing.

But one of the things that is. There were, there's a business in the way where you can fall is where your customers feel like they have to raise their hand if they're different.

Right. So we've got, we've got accommodations for you. We can serve you, but you have to let us know how you're different first, and then we can accommodate you. Even though it's helpful. Like you can be served, you can get your needs met. There are times, like you just said where you don't want to have to raise your hand and say that, you know, you need these special needs.

This, this one stood out to me. Um, very much so I read Shonda Rhimes book the Year Of Yes.

Yes it's. So my list it's on my list.

It's a fantastic book, but she gave an example of, um, the time that she was on an airplane. This is before she lost a ton of weight. And she needed the seatbelt extender. Right

Because

Been there, done that.

It didn't quite fit in her first class seat.

And she felt like she's like, you know what? At this plane goes down, I'm going to die because she did not want to have to raise her hand to ask for it because it was just. It just made her feel not good. Right? So there are times where whenever you've got customers, you've got differences. You do have some types of accommodations for them, or you have thought about them so that you can serve them.

But if they have to raise their hand to say, "Yes, I need this special menu. I need the seatbelt extender" or whatever it is, you know, depending upon where they are, they just might not want to have to do it. So if you can create the environment so that they feel, um, seen without having to signal to everyone else, how they're different, it makes the experience for them so much better.

Honestly, this is, this whole conversation is resonating with me so much in the sense of I've been that person having taught. And it honestly it's mortifying me saying this, but I have been that business. That's asked for a seatbelt extender and I make my husband does not need one, but because I am so mortified.

And then I look at, you know, and the funny thing is then I start comparing myself to other people like. Well, I'm not that big. I'm not like ridiculously huge. I'm not, you know, so why can't I fit in the seat, you know? And like you said, it's, it's more for the fact that we have to acknowledge our difference and, and make that obvious to the world, you know?

And it's like, I don't want to have to do that. And so I thank you for putting in a way that I can, I can completely understand that, but that is not something we want for anybody we don't want someone's having to go, I have this different need. And although I know you're going to accept it, I've got to bring it to you.

And I don't want to do that. Cause that's just a bit. Can be humiliating, especially with something like, seatbelt extended Jesus man. Yeah. You know, but yeah. That's so good. Okay. So, so let's talk specifically, then more around everything that's come up in sense of black lives matter and in terms of being inclusive, that, because I'm really interested to hear from you in terms of not necessarily naming and shaming businesses at all. But what I, what I would like to hear from you is what do you think some businesses are doing wrong so that hopefully if someone sat out there and they go, yeah, "Oh God, I do that and I didn't realize". Because right, for me, this is, I know that, you know, you've had this conversation...