Off The Charts Business Podcast with Nathalie Luss

This week’s guest is Sage Polaris, a conscious launch strategist and copy coach to the internet rich and famous. Tune in to this episode to learn: Why we want to hide after a “failed” launch or when we have a huge success How to be a bold-faced lover of failure and wins Conscious launch practices 3 must-ask questions before your next launch About Sage Polaris About Sage Polaris: Sage Polaris has written high converting copy for more than 400+ clients earning them millions of dollars. She helps personal brands and service providers sell more of their service or offer with the words on their website. Her emails and sales pages are responsible for generating as much as 7 figures in a single launch. She has worked with Chalene Johnson, Chrisette Michele, Rick Mulready, and Lynne Twist. Basically, she makes money for the “internet famous” people we all look up to. And in turn, has been an international speaker in exclusive private Masterminds. She can show your audience how to go from story telling to story selling. This is what truly makes a brand legendary. … and today she’ll tell you exactly how to do that in your own businesses. Her website: https://sagepolaris.com/ Highlights from this episode 1. Importance of Community and Conscious Decision-Making in Business Aligning with clients and making conscious decisions leads to success Successful memberships prioritize member spotlighting and giving voice to underrepresented individuals Creating a strong sense of community and connection leads to longer member retention Handling complaints by providing a platform for individuals to be seen and heard, resulting in positive engagement and recognition 2. Strategies for Highlighting Members Active involvement and engagement observed to select members for social media highlights Avoiding Facebook for social justice posts due to polarization, sharing on Instagram instead Providing actionable resources and courses of action when discussing social justice issues Engaging as an ally and uplifting voices to avoid being seen as a “woke white leader” 3. Shifting Mindset and Celebrating Success Overcoming the tendency to hide after failure and fear of bragging after success Learning to celebrate success as a manifestation of high vibe energy Shifting mindset towards supportive perspective on peers’ success and viewing it as an opportunity for inspiration and growth 4. Tips for Launching Courses or Programs Understand the psychology of the four different buyer types Incorporate strategic decisions in emails and organic posts to cater to different buyer types Focus on building your audience for future launches through Facebook groups, email lists, and guest expert sessions Utilize paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, encouraging engagement through a call to comment Maximize reach and connect with potential customers by understanding algorithms and utilizing technology Timestamps 01:29 Maintained multiple profit sources, reevaluated client work. 05:33 Celebrate success, ignore jealousy, rise above. 06:19 Jealousy fades as emotional intelligence grows. 12:27 Check-in with your audience, make conscious decisions. 14:21 Spotlight members, make conscious decisions, earn money. 18:33 Instagram is better for sharing, fewer random people. 21:37 Diving deeper into tactical launch tips. 25:00 Understand the different types of decision makers for successful sales. 31:44 Schedule time off for a successful launch. 36:08 Ideal time for scaling online business growth. 37:53 Love your inner knowing, utilize technology.

In this episode, Chris Davis, founder of Automation Bridge and host of the All Systems Go! podcast, reveals his proven methods to increasing completion rates in a 1-to-many coaching program.  Tune in to learn: How to use automation to create a better learning experience Why most 1-to-many coaching programs are missing 3 key ingredients How to transition from 1-1 coaching to online group coaching About Chris Davis Chris is passionate about ensuring the marketing automation space is the best it can be. He has over 12 years of professional experience in automation, both corporate and entrepreneurial. He is the full-time founder of Automation Bridge and a fractional CTO for startups. He also hosts the All Systems Go! Podcast, where he talks about deploying automated marketing and sales systems. His website: https://automationbridge.com/ Highlights from this episode 1. Importance of Structuring the Learning Experience Use a submission process as a data-driven approach to ensure students apply what they’ve learned. The submission process should be mandated and connected to automation for user access control. Incorporate worksheets within the curriculum for students to apply their knowledge. 2. Leveraging Gamification for Engagement and Motivation Utilize gamification features like points, leaderboards, and badges to incentivize completion. Points can be redeemed or used for tracking progress, syncing with a CRM system. Badges can be used to unlock certain features or reward specific behaviors. Leaderboards and visual accountability increase compliance and motivation. 3. Implementing Automation for Scalability and Efficiency Automation enables scaling from one-on-one to one-to-many teaching. Learning Management Systems (LMS) have built-in automation for tracking progress and sending automated emails. LMS integration with CRM systems allows seamless communication and data sync. Technology can handle enrollment, scheduling, and access control. 4. Creating a Controlled Learning Environment Implement timed access to course materials to incentivize completion and ongoing engagement. Drip access and prerequisite learning create a controlled learning environment. Assessments and quizzes after each lesson gather data and optimize content delivery. Foster peer-to-peer engagement and community-building for a comprehensive learning experience. Timestamps 01:03 Life took me from artist to engineer. 04:40 Passionate entrepreneurs embrace technology for success. 08:59 Understanding comes from application and demonstration. 11:30 Wasted money on unfinished course, distractions discourage learning. 13:33 Automation improves website purchasing and access process. 16:07 Mind thresholds, test, apply, understand, automate. 21:27 Endless possibilities with free month and course. Automated points synced to CRM. 22:44 Auto log in and make it easy. 25:21 Automation syncs with CRM, giving badges based on criteria. LMS and CRM need to communicate. 29:45 Transitioning from one-on-one mentoring to a wider audience. 32:30 Open door policy, timed cohorts for online program. 37:52 Timed access enhances learning and retention. 38:43 Brilliant, caring approach to student success.

This week, we have a special guest Rebecca Gill, one of the founders of Digital Marketing Kitchen and serial entrepreneurs. Rebecca has a well-rounded business background within small businesses and enterprise organizations, as well as over twenty years of experience in sales and online marketing. In this episode, she brings her expertise to the table and discusses all things related to membership businesses, farming, and SEO. Tune in to learn: How to make the most of the sale of your business to start a new act What’s working in digital marketing right now Why create a membership business right now About Rebecca Gill For over ten years, she led Web Savvy Marketing as the Founder and President. In this role, she provided full-service SEO consulting and one-on-one SEO coaching, created online SEO courses, hosted an SEO podcast, and teach onsite SEO Bootcamps. As an agency, we’ve also performed a whole lot of website design, development, and WordPress theme sales. In total, we’ve served over 6,000 clients in 185 countries over the last ten years. Rebecca’s website: https://rebeccagill.com/

In this episode, guest Natalia Sanyal shares her love for working with personal brands, using marketing and business to create real change. Natalia and Nathalie discuss the importance of validating business ideas, finding your own writing style, and giving agency to people. Natalia also touches on the importance of transparency, empathy, and integrity in marketing tactics, as well as the power of community support. They dive into their thoughts on artificial intelligence and its implications for copywriting and marketing, as well as their experience in writing sales pages that stand out in a sea of sameness. About Natalia Sanyal Natalia is an anti-oppressive copywriter and brand messaging strategist. In the last 10 years, she worked with billion-dollar businesses, New York Times bestselling authors, and award-winning marketing agencies. Now she teaches change-maker personal brands to use marketing as a force for good so that they can create demand without causing harm to humanity and to themselves. Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliasanyal/ Newsletter and private podcast: https://nataliasnewsletter.ck.page/optin Highlights from this episode 1. Finding Your Unique Communication Style Acknowledge that everyone has a natural style of writing, even if they don’t realize it. Look at how you write text messages to your best friends as an example of your natural speaking style. Start by writing freely and then edit to make it sound more like yourself. Practice and experiment with different prompts to develop your own unique style. 2. Ethical Marketing and Empathy Prioritize giving agency to people and providing them with as much information as possible. Be transparent and upfront in marketing tactics, especially in webinars. Replace agitation with empathy when addressing a problem. Lead with empathy to show understanding of how the audience feels, then present solutions from an empathetic angle. 3. Integrity, Play, and AI in Marketing Constantly examine whether your offers, content, and marketing align with your values of integrity and play. AI-generated content may not be helpful for changemakers and thought leaders as it relies on old information. Opportunity to stand out by not sounding like everyone else using AI. AI can be useful for research purposes, but be discerning about bias and legitimacy of information it provides. 4. Marketing Plans and Effective Sales Pages Discuss and plan a marketing strategy for a sales page to ensure it gets the desired visibility. Understand the importance of having a marketing plan in place even if the sales page copy is well-written. Take responsibility for informing clients about the need for a marketing plan, but ultimately, it’s their decision. Offer standalone value in each post, regardless of whether the reader is buying, to make the process easier. Timestamps [00:01:31] I bring out brands’ unique strengths and create change. [00:03:50] Traditional marketing manipulates; we need empathy. [00:06:55] Transparent marketing: give customers agency and information. [00:11:33] Community helps, be discerning on social media. Engage mentally prepared for crickets. [00:15:00] Integrity, play, and values shape my choices. [00:22:35] Writing should reflect personal style and authenticity. [00:24:09] Importance of filtering writing, humanity in marketing. [00:26:40] Important topic: language impact, improving and updating. [00:31:43] Customer support experiences with tech issues and emotions. Concerns about AI in marketing. [00:34:06] AI limitations and potential impact on jobs. [00:36:20] Program called Get Embodied helps changemakers market themselves.

I was recently asked during my Scaling on Your Terms workshop, what went into my decision to take a step back from the spotlight.  (If you missed my live workshop, click here to register for the next one!) For context, if you’re new, this fellow business owner was talking about how I used to speak on a lot of big stages, appear on popular big-name podcasts, and be very visible across all the social platforms. Then after I had my first child, I knew I wanted to focus on the AccessAlly software business and that I would want to slow down all these appearances and associated travel. Being Internet Famous Back in the day, there were people who called themselves “Internet Famous” and I loved this inside joke. We didn’t consider ourselves to be truly famous, because it was such a small subsection of the internet that knew who we were. And frankly, most of us were nerds, because we were early adopters of certain social media platforms. I remember one t-shirt that a friend made that said “I’m a big deal on Twitter”.  It was funny because nobody knew what Twitter was back then.  This type of influencer career has taken on a whole new life and we were just early dabblers, learning how to deal with our small-scale fame. Here’s an example. For context, I grew up in a small town of 3,000 people in Quebec, Canada where everyone knew each other. Then I moved to the big city of Toronto, Ontario which is where I started my business and started becoming “internet famous”. Then when my husband and I moved to Brooklyn, New York I used to take my dog for walks at Prospect Park. One day I came back to my computer after my dog walk to find a tweet from someone saying they saw me at the park. I felt chills down my spine. This wasn’t someone I was “online friends” with, and we had never met in person before… her intention was just to say hi, but it still made me think twice. I often went to the park wearing sweatpants and no bra, with my unwashed hair in a bun… and that in no way matched my “public image”. I started to ask myself if I needed to primp before going for a walk with my dog, to maintain the personal brand I had built up. Let’s rewind the fame train Before we can tackle the connection between being in the spotlight and business success, let’s go back to the beginning. Before there were influencers and personal brands, there were artists and celebrities. They were the first ones to benefit from fame. In fact, one of the first online programs I signed up for in my early business days was called “Creating Fame” by Laura Roeder. She modeled her program on the techniques she had seen her friend, an actress, use to kickstart her career. The concepts of building up fame for yourself around your business were fresh, and they definitely worked.  A lot of folks from that online program are still around, running businesses online and off, and still creating that fame. The concept was simple: if you can make a name for yourself and be in the spotlight, then people will be more likely to buy your products or services. It definitely works better than being the best-kept secret in your industry, right? But as you can imagine, fame at the celebrity level comes with drawbacks. The drawbacks of fame (business or otherwise) It dehumanizes you and makes you into a 2-dimensional representation of yourself. It can also cause weird issues like being put on a pedestal, and then the subsequent fall or shove off of it when you make a mistake or say something that upsets people. These days we blame cancel culture, but as a society, we have always loved a rags-to-riches story and a fall from grace story. Bonus points if they happen to be the same person. Plus there are the expectations we place on famous people.  They need to be available to us for our entertainment, to give us advice or encouragement, to look a certain way, and to meet behavioral standards. In our materialist world in particular, we believe we have the right to be judgemental about famous people because they are “public goods.” They have to look picture-perfect at all times, have meticulously kept homes, drive fancy cars or fly first class, and hang out with other famous people at all times. There’s also the cost that fame exerts on those close to the person in the spotlight.  Like family members who are expected to be shown in photos and videos online, or have their stories woven into the celebrity’s brand. There is a fine line between posting family pictures for friends and family on social media and posting these for public consumption.  It’s possible for the children of famous people to be held to a higher standard, and that can cause emotional and self-esteem issues at a very young age. Then there are the extreme fans, like stalkers and people who get a little too excited that they can meet or discover things about a famous person. If you consider the security aspect for family members, the whole thing gets even harder to stomach for parents. But you get the picture: fame might come with perks like opportunities, money, and success… but the drawbacks are real. Finding your own path to success, fame optional So do I think it’s necessary to be a personal brand, to wield influence online, and to chase the spotlight to be successful? Or share all of our life’s details on Instagram or TikTok daily? My answer is no – depending on what your definition of success is. If your definition of success includes fame, then yes obviously you will need to be in the spotlight and the two go hand in hand. If you crave fame, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that desire. I would definitely recommend looking a little deeper at your motivations, though. Sometimes we reach for outside validation when we feel like we’re not enough as is. This was definitely the case for me. I wanted to prove my worth by going after big goals and achieving them. The fame made me feel appreciated and loved in a way that I didn’t get when I was a geeky teenager who had a hard time making friends and dealing with bullies. But I also realized that it wasn’t satisfying in the same way as a true relationship with another person, and fame felt more transactional overall. Still, if fame is calling your name, go for it. Claiming quiet success There’s also a type of quiet success – where you’re doing good work for people who appreciate it and getting rewarded well financially. Let’s explore that a bit more: this is the type of business you can build that doesn’t depend on your personality to grow.  It doesn’t mean you can’t share your personality and your quirks, but it’s not as much about you as it is about the results you can provide when someone chooses to work with you, buy your product, or read your books. This type of quietly successful business isn’t about being seen constantly, but it does require some visibility otherwise your potential customers won’t know you exist. There are different ways to gain this visibility: it might be through content marketing, partnerships, or word of mouth. The important thing here is that you don’t need a huge massive audience if your business model is focused on a niche and your ability to sell at a higher price point is there. Often, it’s when you’re moving to courses, digital products, and recurring memberships that you want to grow a larger audience. But with a recurring membership, you also don’t need the biggest audience, if you can keep people long-term – this means you don’t need to keep selling to new people all the time. Fame waves or embracing the hiatus Now there is another option, which I think is not talked about often. I’ll call it the “now you see me, now you don’t” approach to fame. There are some notable examples of musicians who do things this way. First, there’s Sade Adu, one of the most successful British female artists in history. She releases a new album and will go on a giant world tour to promote it and share it… and then she vanishes for an 8 to 10-year hiatus, while she works on her next release. This type of hiatus has in no way stopped Sade’s career, she has won everything from a Grammy award and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This type of hiatus “cocoon time” is extremely beneficial. Artists can focus on their craft, creating, and just being. Not having to perform or be someone publicly, but just live their life while getting ready for another publicity push in the future. This kind of “fame wave” also feels natural for women, who may want to step out of the spotlight when they have children or want to spend more time with their families. That was the case with singer Dido, who reached a peak in her career in the late 1990s, won awards, and sold lots of records. Then she took a break from the spotlight and returned in 2013. She then went on her first tour in 15 years in 2019 and won more awards for her work. When the timing is right and a new rush of creative energy or a big project is ready for the world, the stage will be there. No matter what style of personal branding you feel called to – the constant spotlight, the quiet success, or the in-and-out… it’s helpful to understand how to work with your strengths around visibility. Don’t force yourself into a model that doesn’t work for you personally or professionally… just because it worked for someone else, or you think you “need” to do it that way to be successful. I hope this episode challenged the assumption that we need to be in the spotlight in order to grow a successful business.

In today’s episode, we have a special guest joining us: the CEO of Irresistible Inc., Lethia Owens. Lethia is a leadership trainer who believes in leveraging her unique identity and strengths to create an authentic and purposeful brand. In this interview, she shares her journey of finding her fit in a corporate setting, the power of integrating one’s gifts and talents, and how to create a remarkable brand that leaves a lasting impact. Lethia also dives into the importance of real relationships, the value of having the right tools to achieve success, and the significance of aligning one’s personal brand in all aspects of life. Let’s dive right in! About Lethia Owens As the CEO of Irresistible Inc., Lethia works with entrepreneurs to help them define, develop and promote their Irresistible brand. But her lessons about personal branding are not limited to those in business for themselves. As a keynote speaker and leadership trainer, Lethia speaks to employees and leaders throughout the corporate environment, reminding them that we are each president and CEO of “Me, Inc.” It is up to each individual, as an employee or manager, to take responsibility for their own success, recognition, promotion, legacy, reputation, etc. Lethia actively inspires countless individuals around the world to not only discover and live from their unique gifts but to use those gifts to build their wealth. She is ranked #8 among the World’s Top 30 Brand Gurus. https://lethiaowens.com/ Highlights from this episode 1. Leveraging Your Identity and Strengths to Build a Remarkable Brand Emphasizes the importance of being authentic and purposeful in your career journey. Shares personal realization about not conforming to others’ expectations in a corporate job and choosing authenticity instead. Discusses the concept of integration in the workplace, finding your fit, and contributing with authenticity. 2. The Importance of Having the Right Tools for Success Stresses the significance of having a variety of tools to achieve success quickly. Mentions past mistakes in choosing platforms lacking support, leading to the preference for AccessAlly for building membership sites. Highlights the decision to focus on building course and membership sites, separating themselves as a specialized web development company. Introduces “Certify Your Brilliance” as a business complementing their specialized web development work. 3. Being Authentic and Unapologetic in All Aspects of Life Advocates for aligning personal brand in all areas of life and being unapologetically oneself. Rejects the concept of different personas for different areas of life and emphasizes consistency and authenticity. Shares personal experiences of understanding how they are perceived and actively shaping their brand accordingly. Encourages feedback from others and introspection to identify one’s true calling. Timestamps [00:01:44] Asked dad to go out, he said study. 1 year of study, SAT time. Dad asks for money, we’re broke. Mom confuses SAT with STD. No college for me. [00:03:03] Full scholarship, computer science, master’s, 2 doctorates, game changer. [00:08:52] Inspiring words have defined my 16-year career. [00:12:52] Personal brand: Share your authentic self [00:13:35] Managing multiple personalities, fake personas on social media [00:19:26] Distinctive circus brands have magical theatrical productions. [00:22:38] Find your thing, create and be prolific. [00:26:37] AccessAlly surpasses expectations, monetize brilliance with certification. [00:29:57] Focusing on core and membership sites, referrals for others. [00:32:23] Encourage real relationships in marketing, be authentic. [00:35:18] Excited to share brilliance, market domination blueprint.

Coming up on this episode of Off The Charts Business, we have a special guest, Kay Peacey, who is an expert in email marketing automation and ActiveCampaign. We’ll explore the power of automation in streamlining your business processes and hear success stories from small business owners who have experienced the transformative effects of strategic automation. Plus, you’ll learn how to integrate ActiveCampaign with tools like AccessAlly for customizable and personalized interactions with your audience. Stay tuned as we discuss the exciting possibilities of new technology and how it can revolutionize your business! About Kay Peacey Kay Peacey has honed her email marketing automation skills to the very highest levels over 6 years of consulting and training for small businesses. She’s a world-leading ActiveCampaign specialist with a seat on the Customer Advisory Board for ActiveCampaign, and founded the ActiveCampaign Academy at her own company, Slick Business. Kay’s unique combination of top-level strategy and technical skills plus a lifetime of teaching make her the perfect person to help your business unlock bigger return on investment from your email marketing automation whilst keeping the human touch. She’s also partial to using the Lego mini-figs or paper aeroplanes to drive home the learning. Kay’s links: Accelerated ActiveCampaign free course: https://slickbusiness.co/accelerated-activecampaign Kay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-peacey/ Free Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/automate.your.business.with.activecampaign ActiveCampaign Academy: https://slickbusiness.co/activecampaign-academy Highlights from this episode 1. ActiveCampaign and AccessAlly Integration AccessAlly integrates deeply with ActiveCampaign through tags, custom fields, webhooks, and other features ActiveCampaign offers unlimited automation, integration, and a great price point on lower tiers Having the right information about each person going through your business is powerful 2. Automation and Efficiency Automation can assist in routine maintenance of a business and make it more efficient Having unlimited automation allows businesses to scale up in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise Integration is key, allowing different technologies to communicate with each other The importance of strategy when introducing new technology to learners Identify learners’ priorities and tailor content and resources accordingly 3. Empowering Women in Technology On a mission to bring more women into their local area and empower them in technology careers Teaching women to use ActiveCampaign and actively seeking out women with potential in the industry Women can make more money doing automation work than their current industry Timestamped overview [00:08:36] Online space connects and reveals real relationships. [00:11:35] You control your email relationship, use ActiveCampaign. [00:13:38] Incentivize with personalized content, automate follow-up. [00:19:26] “ActiveCampaign Academy teaches small to medium business owners marketing automation.” [00:22:52] Automated system helps Tracy with bookkeeping intake. [00:26:28] Safety in consulting when businesses are struggling. [00:28:52] AccessAlly integrates deeply with ActiveCampaign through tags, fields, and webhooks. Check out ActiveCampaign Academy for more information. [00:35:30] Technical mechanics automate mundane tasks & facilitate communication. [00:38:00] Don’t waste your Ferrari, learn to drive. [00:40:56] Enthusiasm for women in tech and automation.

In this episode, Rebecca Tracey shares her unique insights and experiences on building a sustainable business without the pressure of perfection. With a focus on setting realistic goals, leveraging human connections, and embracing imperfections, Rebecca inspires listeners to take a slower, more deliberate approach in your own entrepreneurial endeavors. About Rebecca Tracey Rebecca Tracey is the founder of The Uncaged Life where she works with coaches to get clear on their brand message, create packages that sell, and help them get clients (without being all over social media). Rebecca runs a highly engaged online Facebook group of over 15,000 entrepreneurs. She started her business while living in a Chevy ’81 campervan  and now lives in her dream town of Squamish BC surrounded by mountains, where she is truly living her Uncaged life. Get Becca’s Free Masterclass on Building Your Business Without Social Media:  https://theuncagedlife.com/no-social Highlights from this episode 1. Building a Sustainable Business Focus on setting realistic goals and avoid striving for perfection. Don’t waste time on unnecessary tasks like creating reels, social media strategies, and funnels. Take the time to build something sustainable and avoid falling into “shiny object syndrome.” Experience failure or disappointment before realizing the value of a slower, more deliberate approach. 2. Leveraging Social Media for Networking Use social media for networking and accessing people’s inboxes, but hold off on content creation initially. Foster human connections through various means, not just through Instagram content. Collaborate with others who have similar audiences and benefit from each other’s content. Networking is crucial for getting clients initially, rather than relying solely on a website. 3. Starting a Business and Navigating the First Year Start with one-on-one interactions to fine-tune processes and achieve specific results before scaling. Experiment and explore different tools and approaches during the first year. Work with someone to prevent burnout and gain skills to help others, even outside of the desired niche. Shift mindset towards niching by realizing that the skills used are the same regardless of the niche. 4. Freedom and Flexibility in Entrepreneurship The main motivation for starting a business is to have freedom and flexibility in how and where to spend time. Avoid constantly learning new platforms and strategies on social media, as it can be stressful and unsustainable. Set lower goals and avoid the pressure to achieve immediate success. Integrate past experience into the new career for credibility, rather than completely discarding it. Timestamps [00:02:38] Social media learning is stressful and unsustainable. [00:04:44] Start 1 on 1, hold off on content creation. [00:09:10] Collaborations on Instagram led to successful business. [00:11:46] First course was delivered through email and Dropbox. Now on AccessAlly, much better. During COVID, people are more accepting of imperfections. [00:14:11] Use friends and family to find customers. [00:16:34] Lower expectations, exceed goals, avoid disappointment. [00:22:35] “Why become a coach? Finding your niche.” [00:23:07] Pressure to find business niche, gain clients, and use diverse skills in first year. [00:26:30] Traveling, work, hobbies, freedom, individuality, dogs. [00:30:00] Social media platforms: FB group, Instagram, free resources.

This week, we are joined by a special guest, Alice Draper, a podcast publicist who is on a mission to make publicity easy and accessible for under recognized women entrepreneurs. Alice shares her journey from freelance journalism to copywriting and eventually pivoting her business to focus on publicity. She dives into the importance of having clear values in business to handle rejections, and she also shares her unique approach to gamifying rejection goals. About Alice Draper Alice is a podcast publicist who is on a mission to make publicity easy and accessible for underrecognized women entrepreneurs at all stages of their businesses. She has been running Hustling Writers for over two years and in this time, she has secured her clients in over 500 podcasts including countless top 1% and top 0.5% podcasts. You can download her free podcast template here: https://hustlingwriters.com/podcast-pitch-template Follow Alice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-m-draper/ https://www.instagram.com/alicedraper/ Highlights from this episode 1. Alice Draper’s journey to becoming a podcast publicist Started out in freelance journalism and experienced the unpredictability of the industry. Took on copywriting work to create stability and realized the value of being published in reputable publications. Transitioned to pitching PR for clients and eventually focused her business on publicity. 2. The importance of having clear values in business Rejections can feel discouraging, but having strong values can help us stay grounded. When we are clear on our values, rejections become obstacles to overcome rather than personal reflections of worth. Getting clear on business values helps navigate the world of rejections that come with putting ourselves out there. 3. Setting healthy boundaries and depersonalizing rejection Recognize that our business is an entity separate from ourselves and establish healthy boundaries. Use systems like spreadsheets to track outreach and follow-ups, and maintain a professional approach. Personalize outreach but avoid making it overly personal, as business involves more no’s than yes’s. 4. Gamifying rejection and setting rejection goals Embrace rejection as a natural part of the process and aim for a certain number of rejections. Viewing rejection as a goal makes it less daunting and helps build resilience. Gamifying rejection can be motivating and reframes it as a necessary step toward success. Timestamps [00:02:03] Transitioned from copywriting to PR focus. [00:04:39] Identity crisis due to validation from others. [00:08:30] Rejection goals help depersonalize and gamify process. [00:10:31] Repurpose rejected content, strategize using accepted stories. [00:16:24] Follow-ups are important, but give space. [00:22:47] Rejection pushes growth, follow similar path. [00:25:28] Take risks, consider the worst outcome. [00:27:44] Pitch yourself on high impact podcast.

This episode is packed with valuable advice and inspiration for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and podcasters alike. Join us as Lara dives deep into her experiences in the HR and people and culture space, her insights on full-time employment versus freelancing, and the challenges and rewards of podcasting as a portfolio piece. About Lara Dalch Lara Dalch is the creator and host of She Knows the Way, a podcast about deciding what’s next when doing what’s expected no longer feels right. With 15+ years of experience in communications, marketing, content strategy, facilitation, and leadership development, she also develops and produces a variety of content for organizations of all sizes. She has a particular passion for projects that amplify the voices and stories of women. Lara Dalch’s podcast: https://laradalch.com/podcast Timestamps [00:00:03] Entrepreneurs may feel pressured to run their own businesses, but it can be stressful. In-house roles or bridge jobs can be beneficial and nothing to be ashamed of. Laura Dolch has a diverse career and offers valuable insight. [00:08:30] Creating content that educates, inspires, entertains – freelancer, storyteller. [00:13:39] Started as a designer, now designing learning experiences. [00:20:32] Podcasting is about writing and flow. [00:23:32] Podcast became a passion project, not marketing. [00:32:00] Freelancing is more stable than full-time employment. Highlights from this episode 1. The Journey of Designing Learning Experiences Started her own business in 2010 designing courses and workshops Explored opportunities in applying their skills to other organizations and designing learning experiences Leveraged previous roles with an HR tech startup, the University of Washington, and a consulting firm Learned the language of HR and people and culture space from working with the HR tech company 2. Perspective on Full-Time Employment vs. Freelancing Believes that taking a full-time job while figuring out next steps is a normal part of the journey Considers finding your own way in terms of work to be more stable than being a full-time employee Feels more secure with a mindset of considering full-time employment as just another project rather than a long-term commitment Applies marketing skills to market their freelance business and experiences to potential buyers 3. Podcasting and Writing for the Ear Emphasizes that podcasting is about writing, not just speaking into a mic Skills in scripting, writing, and flow of episodes or seasons from the learning space Aims to make podcast material engaging, entertaining, and digestible for listeners Acknowledges the importance of the flow and language used in the podcast experience 4. The Power of Freelancing and Diverse Skills Values freelancing for the freedom it provides Attracted to clients who approach learning with a human perspective, psychology, or neuroscience elements Considers feedback from people who have experienced a client’s work important Recognizes the importance of a well-designed website as indicative of attention to detail

In this episode of Off The Charts Business, Nathalie Lussier and guest Dana Malstaff reveal some groundbreaking insights on building a successful community and creating a thriving membership.  About Dana Malstaff Dana Malstaff is founder of the Nurture to Convert Society and author of the bestselling book, Boss Mom. She is a successful entrepreneur who, after being laid off from her job due to a company restructuring, decided to take the opportunity to start her own business. As she embarked on this new journey, she also discovered that she was expecting a child. Determined to navigate the challenges of being a working mom, Dana sought to create a community and support system for other like-minded women who wanted to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship. In 2015, she wrote the acclaimed book, Boss Mom, which gained significant recognition and attracted a loyal following. Drawing from her experience in community building and her understanding of how people work, Dana developed the highly successful Boss Mom community. Her passion for nurturing and supporting women in various industries inspired her to create the nurture to convert society, a membership program designed to help women grow their businesses and support one another. She has demonstrated that support and community are not just buzzwords, but integral components of building a successful business and finding fulfillment as a mompreneur. Timestamps [00:00:54] New mom starts own company, builds community. [00:10:36] Membership success relies on having your own system. Provide valuable support and release content strategically to enhance the system. Aim for 80% member self-sufficiency. Launching a certification program to meet member needs. Create loyalty to keep members engaged. [00:21:32] Flexible integration for entrepreneur growth and engagement. [00:26:02] Building directory, badges, certifications, and templates marketplace. [00:31:41] Certification solves friction problem, controls growth. [00:35:43] Scaling is not about getting bigger, but about getting bigger without extra effort. Being a one-on-one coach is unscalable because it is limited, while building a membership allows for scalability without additional overhead. Scaling is about increasing profits while providing good service, and making more money with less effort. [00:38:28] Community engagement and vulnerability are crucial for membership success. [00:44:11] Main website: Boss Mom. Facebook group and podcast included. Podcast nearing 2 million downloads. Exciting new blogging course launched. Opportunities for members to blog. Pinterest expert hired to increase visibility. Creating a business ecosystem for support. Highlights from this episode 1. Building a Successful Membership A membership should supplement a system and aim to create self-sufficiency. Points can be used to unlock content templates and hot seats with the creator. The ultimate goal is to create a loyal membership that never wants to leave. 2. The Power of Community Building Dana started a community for moms who want to build something outside of being a stay-at-home mom. Building a community around meaningful support is crucial. Incentivizing testimonials and fostering loyalty can enhance the success of a membership. 3. Creating a Scalable Business Scaling is about making more money with less effort. Building a membership allows for scalability without extra overhead. Every month, improving the system can lead to increased profitability and less effort. 4. Leveraging Tools and Systems AccessAlly is praised for its integration with WordPress and flexibility. Implementing a software-like approach to updates has improved the business and reduced stress. Simplifying and guiding members through a system is more desirable than overwhelming them with content.

In this episode of Off The Charts Business, Nathalie Lussier and guest Marc Wayshak discuss the lucrative potential of individual sales versus big companies. Marc, a sales trainer, advocates for the growth achievable through sales training for individuals and underscores the role of tools like Teams for collaboration. He attributes a professional corporate image for his Sales Insights Lab to Rain Boyd, an AccessAlly expert. He discusses the significance of accountability, progress tracking, and adaptability in content creation, particularly on YouTube. Marc also emphasizes the importance of active communication, understanding customers, and developing a scripted sales process. He shares his preference for high-ticket services and how he has navigated YouTube algorithm changes. Lastly, he shares insights from customer conversations, his successful Lab Accelerator Plus program, the evolution of his business from solo sales trainer to a scalable company, and his decision to build his own platform with Access Ally. Join the exploration of sales training, YouTube marketing, and building a scalable business with a personal touch. About Marc Wayshak Marc practices a data-driven, science-based approach to selling that utilizes all the best tools available to sales organizations today. Marc is a contributor to Inc, HubSpot, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur Magazine. He also hosts a popular YouTube channel on sales strategy with over 124,000 subscribers. He is the best-selling author of three books on sales and leadership, including the highly acclaimed titles Game Plan Selling, The High-Velocity Sales Organization and his forthcoming book, Sales Conversations, Mastered. Marc holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BA in social sciences from Harvard University. Visit his website here. Timestamped Overview [00:02:31] Transition from solo sales trainer to high ticket program [00:08:53] Membership: specific offers, upsell to high ticket. Switched from membership to high ticket: less support, less complaints. [00:12:55] Do it yourself, script questions, close sales. [00:18:29] Dashboard with objectives, notes, and course completion. [00:25:16] Program for smaller orgs, intensive coaching for managers. [00:29:33] YouTube: Free marketing engine, consistent content creation. [00:36:35] Access Ally is a user-friendly platform that integrates well with Infusionsoft. Keeping things simple is key for successful business growth. [00:41:40] Phone calls and conversations lead to success. Highlights from this episode 1. Selling to Individuals vs. Big Companies Smaller individual sales provide more opportunities for making money compared to big companies. Individuals are willing to invest more in sales training for themselves. Going after smaller individuals does not limit the potential for becoming a large organization. 2. Building a Sales Insights Lab with AccessAlly Utilizing the tools provided by AccessAlly for accountability and collaboration. Working with Rain Boyd, an AccessAlly Implementer expert developer, to design the Lab. Implementing quizzing in the Lab to ensure active engagement. 3. Utilizing YouTube for Marketing YouTube is the speaker’s most important free marketing tool. Consistently putting out content on YouTube for the past six years. Repurposing YouTube videos into blog posts to improve SEO and grow the email list. 4. The Importance of Human Interaction in Sales and Marketing Emphasizing the value of doing sales calls oneself in the beginning and not outsourcing. The speaker listens to call recordings as a way to train oneself and gain qualitative research. Highlighting the value of starting conversations with clients and prospects without waiting for everything to be perfect. Building a scalable business with a team of salespeople and support staff to provide better coaching and support.

In life, there are many paths that are pre-determined for us. We are born within certain communities and families, in certain parts of the world. This instills in us certain worldviews, quirks, and assumptions. It’s from this subconscious training on how the world works that we make all of life’s choices. From what we should do as a career, to who we partner with in life, and what we do with our precious time on this planet. We are following the path that has been laid out for us already. Sure, we may buck a few trends. We may veer off the path here and there, but society has a way of getting us back on track. Whether it’s an offhand comment asking why you don’t have kids yet, or when you’re going to “get a real job”… These things have a way of keeping us on the straight and narrow. So how do we figure out what matters to us personally as humans, so we can take the path that we most want to take? In my life, I’ve followed the prescribed path many times. I studied Software Engineering, which wasn’t a very female-approved path, but still societally accepted. I was lucky enough to have paid internships that allowed me to realize fairly quickly that the work environments would not be a fit for me. So when I graduated from college, I took my first step drastically off the beaten path. I turned down a job offer from a prestigious firm on Wall Street… and started my first online business. There were a lot of comments directed at me because of this decision. From my parents, but also from my peers and other family members. One reason we don’t stray from traditionally accepted paths is often because of family. We don’t want to disappoint our family members. Dr. Gabor Maté is a doctor who has 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience. In one of his talks, he speaks to this, where he says that we need 2 fundamental things as human beings: Attachment: connection with another human being for the purpose of being taken care of. He says that the younger we are, the more important this need is. Authenticity: knowing who we are, what we feel, while being able to express it and honor it in our behavior. Often what that means is to remain in an attached relationship with our parents, friends, or others close to us… we cannot be our authentic selves. This means that we suppress the parts of us that want to do things differently or veer off the expected path. Because our relationships are so important to our survival and well-being. Dr. Maté says that we learn to suppress our authenticity because it can threaten our attachment to our caregivers. This might be true when we’re a toddler throwing a tantrum, or a teenager wanting to do things our own ways. But we also need to recognize that living a life that doesn’t feel authentic to our values and to our true self is not good for our survival either. In this same talk, Dr. Gabor Maté shares examples of people who develop chronic illnesses because they aren’t able to express their full range of emotions. He goes into more detail about this connection between human emotion and our immune system in the book “When the body says no.” Ignoring your true path might make you feel sad or angry… Or like something is not quite right in your life, but it might even lead to disease and health conditions. Learning how to carve your own path by listening to that deep inner voice could help you live a longer and healthier life. So how do you figure out what you truly want? Out of life, out of a partner, out of a career? One thing that works for me is to remember my childhood. What made me happy?  What are the wonderful memories that stand out?  What did I love doing? In my case, I loved my grandmother’s garden and picking raspberries. Playing with my friends and climbing trees. Inventing stories and writing them down. Discovering new things and creating websites on our home computer. These are all things that I’ve been able to incorporate into my career, as well as my personal life. If you have too many paths you’d like to explore, I recommend the book “Refuse to choose” by Barbara Sher. In it, she shares an exercise where you imagine that you have 10 lives to live. You can be anything and do anything you want in each one. Write down different professions, places you’d like to live, things you’d like to do. Then at the end, you get to decide what you want to keep and how it all fits together. For example, in one of my “lives” I put down, I would like to be an expert martial artist and run a school. Now, I have a black belt in Taekwondo, and I’m not actively practicing anymore. I feel like I’ve gotten everything I wanted from my practice and I don’t need to make martial arts my whole life. Maybe for you, a certain career could be just a hobby. If you love baking but you don’t want to become a full-time bakery owner, you might just bake for fun. Sometimes trying an idea on in your imagination is enough to realize that it’s not what you want to do as your entire life focus. But it might be a wonderful project after you retire, or when you take a sabbatical. Choosing to move to a farm is another one of those “off the prescribed path” choices I made. It took a lot of energy to make it happen, so once you know what would make you happy… it’s time to figure out “the how” of making it happen. If you’re not happy with a certain aspect of your life, or you know you might be happier in a different situation… try reverse engineering. Think about what you’ll need to do to get on the right track. Sometimes it’s not possible to jump to another path, but you’ll need to make small incremental changes that will lead you there. Now that you have more clarity, you might be wondering how you tell other people. After all, most of the time, we’re not pursuing the things that we want because of how others will react. Or how we think they will react. Maybe to make space for your new hobby, you will need to step down from other responsibilities and feel you’re letting others down. That may be the case, but those people will recover and understand. People want you to be happy. I really believe that. If they don’t, then they aren’t worth trying to please. So letting people know that you’re taking things in a different direction doesn’t need to be a big deal. You can start small if you think it will help, but the most important person to convince is yourself. If you’re ready to go for it, the world will come together to support you in doing it. It being: Starting a new venture or project, giving your hobby the time it deserves, or changing your lifestyle. You are wiser than you think. Your body knows, too. When you feel dread in the pit of your stomach when you’re about to do something… it’s a sign. When you get excited and feel like your heart is all in, then you’re moving in the right direction. It’s difficult making decisions that clash with the status quo. But the status quo isn’t there to help you live your best life. Often, it exists to keep people in line, to benefit the people who came up with the status quo. It is safe to strike out on your own path. It might even be safer for your long-term health, and it is absolutely better for your mental well-being and happiness. You can do this.

On this episode of Off The Charts Business, we dive into the importance of having a clear destination or vision before crafting an effective path to success. Our guest, LaChelle Barnett, shares insights on building a personal brand, prioritizing ideas and expertise, and the crucial role of accountability for multi-talented individuals. LaChelle emphasizes the value of delivering good programs and results over focusing solely on marketing, and shares her perspective on the lack of emphasis on client success in the online space. We also explore the process of designing and refining effective programs, overcoming imposter syndrome, and regaining self-trust and confidence. Join us as LaChelle offers personalized coaching to help individuals play big in their lives, identifies areas of misalignment, and provides practical strategies for building a cohesive brand. About LaChelle Barnett LaChelle is a Branding and Curriculum Design Expert. She helps mission-driven experts bring their vision to life. She is passionate about creating programs that actually get results. By trade she is a licensed therapist of over 10 years running group and designing programs. She is a super nerd, with hundreds of books, and spends her time reading, researching, and using her favorite highlighters. Visit her site here. Timestamped Overview: [00:01:33] Delivery, not marketing, builds successful businesses. [00:03:14] Leverage time with well-designed curriculum, find alignment. [00:07:42] Clear, strategic planning essential for achieving goals. [00:11:52] Framework-based programs need focused and tested content. [00:16:29] Personal mission and accountability for multi-talented individuals. [00:22:41] Helping people align with their vision and overcome internal obstacles through personalized coaching and understanding their unique needs and experiences. [00:29:20] Friend seeks help to overcome dating struggles. [00:31:50] Contact me on Facebook or join my email list. Highlights from this episode: Topic 1: The Importance of Having a Clear Destination Many people approach business with a “chop wood, carry water” mentality, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to desired results. Without a clear destination, it is challenging to navigate the journey effectively. Providing clarity and tangible milestones can help people operate with more focus and direction. Topic 2: Building a Personal Brand and Accountability Defining a personal mission or goal is the first step in building a personal brand. Accountability is crucial for multi-talented individuals to stay on track. Structure, systems, and processes are necessary for accountability and growth. Topic 3: Importance of Delivery in Business It is more important to focus on delivering good programs and results rather than solely on marketing. The online space often lacks focus on delivery and client success compared to marketing and sales. Retaining clients and gaining referrals through delivering results is essential. Topic 4: Creating Effective Programs and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Understanding your own framework is crucial in creating a proven program. Designing an effective program requires eliminating unnecessary information and focusing on an efficient path. Imposter syndrome is common when creating a program, but trial and error can lead to refining and success. Favorite quotes As experts, we’re so excited about our idea that we are often putting out into the marketplace, the thing that we want. Which often doesn’t exactly align with what our audience wants. One of the places where we break self-trust is when we say we’re gonna do something, we start a project, and then we go off and do a different project. The lack of momentum is directly tied to the lack of focus. We as humans are really, really good at lying to ourselves about what it is that we desire. I don’t know that entrepreneurs fully understand the impact of failed launches and chargebacks. And investments that don’t work, and husbands and wives that are mad that you’re spending hours, like those things impact our ability to show up. Your homework: write the perfect testimonial that they would like to have from your clients.

When it comes to time and money, we all feel like there’s not enough. And in a sense, it’s true. It would be nice to have unlimited time and unlimited funds. But if you’re reading or listening to this, chances are that you have the ability to experience a new relationship with money and time. Stay with me, I know this is going to challenge your beliefs. When I first started trying to untangle my social conditioning about the scarcity of the resources around us… it really challenged me, too. I’m not trying to gloss over or self-help our way through the real systemic issues that are keeping people from getting the money and time resources they need. But rather, what I’m offering is a way to “uncouple” from the need for “more” so that we can take back our power. As workers (whether self-employed or not) and as humans. Let’s start with money. There are studies that show that once you reach a certain income level, more money doesn’t improve your happiness or comfort levels. I’ve seen it quoted as $75,000/year. There’s a lot that goes into this number – I believe people should have access to housing, education, healthcare, and safety too.  It’s not just about an arbitrary dollar amount. But beyond a certain amount of money, we reach hedonistic adaptation. The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill)  Brickman, Coates, and Janoff-Bulman investigated the hedonic treadmill in their 1978 study, “Lottery Winners and Accident Victims: Is Happiness Relative?” Hedonic adaptation involves a happiness “set point”, where humans generally maintain a constant level of happiness throughout their lives, despite events that occur in their environment. Basically, it’s a human trait where once we have more, we get used to it. Here’s a concrete example. Let’s say you are used to eating thrifty ramen noodles because you don’t have a lot of money to spare. Then your business starts to do better and you move up to cooking more elaborate meals. Now you get used to these meals and you don’t really appreciate how much of a difference it is compared to your cheap noodles anymore. Then one day, you decide to splurge at the farmer’s market and start eating all locally grown fresh stuff. Now that’s your new normal, just a few months later. You adapt to each change and your happiness level comes back to a regular baseline. You’re just as happy eating ramen as you are eating gourmet foods. That’s not to say that eating well isn’t worthwhile, but our feelings and happiness toward improvements quickly get back to “this is normal for me now”. That’s why even if you move to a bigger house, or buy a fancier car, or upgrade your wardrobe: you don’t feel happier after the initial rush wears off. So if hedonistic adaptation means that we continue to feel just as happy after a certain level of income… How does that play out when we are trying to be happy today? Most of us have a sense that we should be earning more, saving more, and accumulating more wealth. Everything around us is telling us the same thing. More will make you happier. This is a lie. Even millionaires fall for it. A Harvard professor asked millionaires how much more money they would need to have to reach a 10 on the happiness scale. Those with $1 million would need $2 million. Those with $2 million would need $4 million. Those with $3 million would need $6 million. You see where this is going. We think more money will make us happier. But we need to realize this isn’t true. So if more isn’t the solution, enough is. Knowing what your “enough” looks like is probably one of the most life-changing things you can recognize. Enough money usually comes down to what you value in life, and that’s going to be different for everyone. But let’s say that your enough includes being able to take care of your family: put a roof over your heads feed and clothe them and educate and protect those you love Or maybe your enough includes feeling secure in your retirement years or having a car that doesn’t break down when you need it. There may be a way to calculate an actual number that you need to reach this enough point. It could be an annual income you’re aiming for. Or it could be a certain amount in savings and investments. But once you come at the “more money” problem with the lens of “what is enough money for me” you can find solutions. Your brain sees how you can get there. Whether it’s living within our means, or realizing that we already have enough. Marketers have a vested interest in keeping you chasing the next six-figure launch and the next echelon of wealth. Not to mention getting you to click buy on that ad or website. Because when you’re stressed out and overworking, you spend more. You’ll exchange money for convenience and for “stuff” that makes you feel better. Feel like there’s never enough time? This brings me to the feeling of “never enough time”. If you think that we have a wonky relationship with not enough money, wait until you meet not enough time. With money, we can be a bit more objective.  Either you have the funds to cover your monthly bills or not.  Either you have money saved away for a rainy day or not. These are tangible numbers that you can track. This means you can look at the numbers and remind yourself of the power you have over these numbers. Whether it is by spending less, bartering, or earning more over time. But for time, we all have the “same” 24 hours.  These “same” 24 hours are so incredibly different because we have circumstances that essentially bend time differently for each of us. Some people are in health situations that require more rest or that don’t allow for the same efficiency or ability to “get things done”. Others might have kids, parents that need help, or other commitments like daily farm chores. Still, others might have team members, supportive spouses, or access to other conveniences like paid help. Then we get to work, which tends to take the biggest chunk of people’s time.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a business you run or working for others, work can and will take over your “downtime” if you let it, in the form of thinking about work even when you’re not working. But I started things off by saying that there is a way to experience an abundance of time. Full disclosure: I’m not able to create more hours in a day, or improve your health and efficiency so you can get more done, faster. However, there is a mindset shift that clicked for me when I heard this quote from Dr. Amanda Crowell, author of the book Great Work. The quote goes like this, and please let it sink in: “There is enough time to do everything that matters.” Now, the quote by itself might make you realize that yes… at the end of the day, you have enough time to do the things that matter the most to you. But what tends to happen is that we only prioritize things that society tells us is important. Notably, working and making money. I’ve definitely spent the last decade and a half focused on building my business, networking, and doing work to provide for my family. If I could trace an activity back to how it could potentially lead to more money down the road, then I prioritized it. Often at the detriment of my health, quality time with friends and family, and simple pleasures like reading fiction or being creative. The magic part of realizing there is enough time to do everything that matters… is figuring out what “really matters” to you. Not to your country’s GDP. Not to your neighbors, your peers, or what you’re supposed to care about. Especially when you recognize that you’re on the hedonistic treadmill, and working harder to make more money isn’t the solution to how you’re feeling right now. The solution might be taking a nap. It might be going for a walk. Spending time gardening. Learning a new hobby. Making love. Resting. The other important point that cognitive psychologist Dr. Amanda Crowell shares around this topic is that you need to take different actions to retrain your brain around time abundance. What that means in practice is that if spending time exploring a creative project matters to you, but you keep putting it off, you’re training yourself to think there’s never enough time. But if you give yourself even just 30 minutes or 1 hour per week to do this creative exploration, you’re sending a signal to yourself that there is enough time. Now, I’m fully aware that we don’t all have the same 24 hours and just squeezing “more” in isn’t the solution. Yes, we often do have to make decisions to remove things from our days to make space for what matters most. You can take breaks from projects, renegotiate deadlines, and ask for help. It might take a while to start carving out the time you want to dedicate to other things. I’ve been working on improving my relationship to time for a while now. It’s still not perfect, but how I see my time has shifted a lot. I don’t need to feel like time is scarce, I get to choose how I spend it, within the parameters and structure of my life in this season. If you didn’t expect the solution to be “find ways to be happy with what you have now”, I’m sorry about that.  It’s a very Buddhist approach to say “desire is the root of all suffering.” When we accept what is, when we stop striving for more, we can enjoy what we have. Over to you now I realize that having enough time and money to do everything that matters to you might be a tall order. I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic. Did some of this help to shake some of your assumptions loose? Will you be looking at time or money a little differently? Leave a comment below. I’m still in full-on practice mode for this myself, and I’d love to practice alongside you. 

On this episode of Off The Charts Business, Nathalie Lussier and guest Tarzan Kay dive deep into the world of email marketing. They discuss how often to send emails, finding the right balance between nurturing and selling, and treating a small list as an opportunity for personalized marketing. Tarzan shares tips on email subject lines, copywriting, and creating successful products through customer research. The episode also covers the use of AI tools for writing and the importance of having a unique writing style. If you’re looking to improve your email marketing skills or wondering how to stand out from the competition, this podcast episode is a must-listen. Tarzan Kay is a former copywriter-for-hire who specializes in emails that are fun to read, and more addictive than Netflix. Her online courses teach how to write story-based copy and make consistent sales from a small email list, without using fear or FOMO. Her company’s mission is to make high-integrity marketing the new status quo for online business. In a previous life, Tarzan was a music major and once did a 3-year stint in law school, in French! When T-Boss isn’t writing emails, you’ll find her taking mid-day dunks in the ice bath or playing Billy Joel’s greatest hits on the piano. Tarzan and her family live in Ontario, Canada. Visit her site here. Tarzan Kay is a successful copywriter and email marketer who began her career taking online courses and specializing in online courses and emails. She landed a major gig of writing emails for Amy Porterfield, which generated a lot of buzz and recognition for her work. Tarzan quickly discovered her sweet spot, niching down specifically to online courses and emails with a side of landing pages and sales pages. A law school dropout with no meaningful jobs or financial stability, Tarzan saw immense potential in the copywriting industry. Along with building skills as a service provider to make other businesses successful, she also focused on building her own business. It took her two to three years to transition into selling courses herself, and now she has two major programs about copywriting and email marketing. The highlights from this episode: Email List Building and List Nurturing Email frequency and how to achieve consistency Balancing nurturing and selling in emails Turning a small list into a superpower Value every subscriber, no matter how small your list is Tarzan Kay’s journey from a copywriter to a course creator List building should start with high-ticket items and move towards more affordable offers Email marketing is crucial for any online business Customer Research and Product Creation Testing a product can be a painful and time-consuming mistake The importance of customer research for creating successful products The importance of listening to customers through surveys and phone interviews A useful customer survey should ask only one open-ended question Email Writing and Subject Lines How to split test email subject lines Writing multiple subject lines can improve skills and generate curiosity Email subject lines can be categorized into three types: curiosity-inducing, urgent, or informative Practicing writing subject lines regularly can lead to improvement over time Importance of having a general framework for sales emails Pick apart what’s going on in the email and why it works to duplicate it AI Writing Experimenting with AI writing tool Jarvis Tarzan Kay’s brand is personality-driven and story-driven Need to be careful about relying too much on AI tools and know what you want to say to get decent content out of them.

Do you ever stop to ask yourself if what you’re doing is worth doing? Not when you’re undertaking a chore like washing the dishes or taking out the recycling… But when you zoom out to look at your life? Much of what we spend our time doing is influenced by the culture around us. In this episode, I’m taking a look at why we moved to a farm and why we do the majority of the farm work ourselves. If you’re surrounded by go-getters then you likely pick ambitious things to devote your time to. Like climbing the corporate ladder, leveling up your business revenues, or running a marathon. If your friends are in the child-rearing years, then you’re likely spending your time ferrying kids to soccer practice, piano lessons, or birthday parties. Your version of following what society tells you to go after might look totally different. No one is going to ask you if you are really spending your life the way you want to spend it. Set aside what you think you’re supposed to do for a minute. You might just end up moving to a farm and learning how to milk sheep… while everyone asks you where that idea came from. Or, for you it could be taking up a whole different hobby, career, or friendship group. Here’s to listening to what comes from deep inside, and acting on it. If you’re curious about my newsletter, The Momentum Memo, you can get it delivered to your inbox and receive quick actionable tips to gain momentum in your business each Tuesday.

On this episode of Off The Charts Business, we sit down with Matt Ingot, founder of Tilted Pixel, to discuss the ins and outs of building and scaling successful membership sites. From understanding your target audience by surveying them to using data to find solutions to recurring problems, Matt shares his analytical approach to membership site growth. We explore how to retain members by providing the right content structure and presentation, and how to double customer lifetime value by focusing on annual plans instead of monthly ones. Matt also shares his journey as a multi-passionate entrepreneur and how he aims to create a “life-first” business that allows him to pursue his various interests while providing financial and time abundance. Tune in to discover how to build an Off The Charts business that solves ongoing problems and creates ongoing success! Matt Inglot is the founder of Tilted Pixel, an agency dedicated to helping 6 and 7 figure membership site owners to grow their business. Matt’s 16 years of experience in working with digital products and membership sites has allowed him to see what works and what doesn’t across a wide range of membership business, and to be able to quickly spot the issues that are preventing your site from growing. He is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who loves business and technology but also values having a balanced lifestyle. He is passionate about helping his clients and making a positive impact on the world. Throughout his career, he has strived to create a business that allows him to pursue his passions while also enjoying financial and time abundance. Matt believes that an Off The Charts business is one that provides both financial success and the ability to pursue multiple interests and passions. Growing Your Membership Business With a Data-Focused Approach If you’re running a business, it’s important to keep track of membership churn and survey members to find out why they are leaving. Gathering feedback from members and analyzing usage data can help identify what features are working and what needs improvement. It’s important to pay attention and make changes based on feedback instead of just sticking with a plan that may not be effective. Keeping an ear to the ground can give you a preview of what’s happening faster than analyzing raw statistical data, especially for smaller sites. One of the most common problems members face is not having enough time to implement the content, even if they are retired. Rather than adding more content and features, membership site owners need to continually refine their offering to find what will solve their members’ challenges. Many membership site owners make the mistake of adding more content and features in an effort to retain members. But they need to take the time to survey their members and find out what they actually need and are struggling with. According to Matt, the key to retaining members in a membership site is changing the content to make it closer to what will help members the most, which sometimes means less instead of more. If you’re struggling to figure out how to create a successful membership site, Matt Ingot suggests that solving recurring problems provides ongoing relief for members and keeps them paying for the membership. Identify your target audience’s recurring problems through surveys and build your site around providing ongoing solutions. Solving recurring problems provides value to membership site owners in the form of ongoing revenue. But how do you maintain that value? Learn from Matt Ingot’s experience and analysis of customer lifetime value. He suggests that removing the monthly plan and focusing on annual plans can be beneficial as it doubles the lifetime value of each customer.

Maybe this story sounds familiar if you’re a woman in tech, or anyone who doesn’t fit the traditional mold in any given field. In this episode, I share my experience with the “golden boys” I met at a party who were celebrating their software launch. I was initially swept up by the hype, only to find out that their product was slow, buggy, and ultimately unusable.  Later, I discovered that my own business, AccessAlly, was doing far better than theirs.  This made me think about how women tend to hold back and wait until everything is perfect before putting themselves out there. We might not brag as much as we should, even when we have a solid product or service.  It’s important for women to own the value they create and not trivialize the coding side of any software company, as it’s a crucial aspect of the business. I’ve learned a lot about running a 7-figure software company over the years. I’ve learned that focusing on nurturing our customers and making our product better is the key to success.  While I don’t attend many events or do much public speaking anymore, I invite you to share your thoughts on women and bragging in business.  If you’re curious about my newsletter, The Momentum Memo, you can get it delivered to your inbox and receive quick actionable tips to gain momentum in your business each Tuesday. https://nathalielussier.com/memo

In this episode of the Off the Charts Business podcast, Natalie Lussier speaks with Breanne Dyck from the Visionary CEO Academy. They discuss the concept of scaling a business, including how bottlenecks can’t be entirely eliminated, only moved. The episode offers actionable ideas and real-world examples to help multi-passionate entrepreneurs design a scalable business and spend more time away from the screen. “The true bottleneck is actually the decision that happens before the task can be executed.” Breanne Dyck from Visionary CEO Academy Breanne Dyck is the co-founder and managing director of Visionary CEO Academy, which was founded in 2012. She helps people empower their teams and scale their online businesses, from their revenue to their impact. She’s an expert in structuring businesses to allow for infinite scalability and building personal strategies to fit each person and business. Visit her site here. Some of the best moments from this episode: 00:02:19 – “You can have the best course, but if you don’t have the business infrastructure behind it to be able to support it, the whole thing’s gonna fall apart.” 00:04:22 – “There’s no such thing as eliminating a bottleneck.” 00:08:06 – “The true bottleneck is actually the decision that happens before the task can be executed.” 00:11:09 – “And if you’ve been feeling like balls have been dropped in the business, you’ll start to see why, because you’ll start to see all of the handoffs.” 00:14:23 – “And so at the end of all of this is literally a new job for yourself where it’s not you being the bottleneck, you making all the decisions, you doing all the things, but it’s you empowering a team who can take care of those things and collectively you have a business that’s better than any one person could ever have it be on their own.” 00:16:41 – “If there’s a place where you get super frustrated that someone isn’t doing it the way you wanted, that’s a sign that that’s not something you hate.” 00:17:49 – “An OBM is not a job. An OBM is a collection of skills, which can be so widely varied.” 00:20:08 – “Try and master 5% of all of your job in week one, and then try and master the next 5% of your entire job in week two.” 00:22:48 – “The benefit is that number one, you get results faster because they’re able to be fully on board and fully owning one area of the what much faster and the second benefit is that they actually start to learn the other things more quickly because they’re not having to switch between things all the time.” 00:24:46 – “Scaling is another word that can mean so many different things to so many different people.” 00:27:04 – “That’s the difference between a business that can scale sustainably and one that’s just going to spin its wheels or worse fall apart.” 00:29:28 – “Value to the business is profit. Value to the customer is results. Let’s map out how that value is being exchanged through our model.” 00:31:30 – “Culture is what keeps team and profit aligned.” 00:34:23 – “The moment you step out of that yourself and you elevate yourself to focusing on what, when, why, where, not how, that is what will make the difference.” 00:38:49 – “Watching how we deliver the program is a lesson in itself” 00:39:40 – “I think that you are not your business and that you have to be in relation with your business.”