Courage & Clarity

This week I'm so excited to welcome my friend and coaching student, Megan Seeley -- The Goal Designer! Megan is an anti-productivity coach for moms. She challenges them to live a life of radical non-guilt, and teaches them to strategically carve out time for themselves. Megan is very much in the middle of her own Courage story, and she shares her entrepreneurial journey vulnerably. After re-arranging her entire life to be a stay at home mom only to realize it wasn't for her, Megan knew she had to discover her purpose. In the Clarity part of the episode, Megan shares her 3 tips for combining traditional paper planners with the 15 Minute Planner Method.

I’m beyond excited to introduce Episode 100’s super special guest, Amy Porterfield! Besides hosting her own top-rated podcast, Amy teaches entrepreneurs and business owners how to use online marketing strategies so they can sell with ease. In the COURAGE half of the episode you’ll hear: How scary it was for Amy to leave her “dream job” with Tony Robbins to start her own business That she wasn’t an overnight success and didn’t have huge course launches right away A story she hasn’t shared before that was pivotal to her career change (I just know this one will strike a cord with so many of you) In the CLARITY half of the episode we dig into Amy’s best advice to create, present and profit from webinars. Here’s just a little taste of what we get into: Why Amy's sure that webinars are the best way to launch an online course or program The ONE thing you must have in your webinar Questions to ask yourself before you start building your slides The teaching method Amy uses in her own webinars When to invite people (and what to do after the webinar is over!) How to get people to show up live Guys, this episode is a truly special one for me. Amy's voice is one of the few mainstays I'd hear coming through my car speakers during my commute to my corporate job every day in 2014, when what I do today was only a dream. So to say that this interview was a surreal experience would be a huge understatment. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this episode!

In the final episode of the Business Wisdom Series (for now!), Megan asks Steph: "From here, it looks like it's all fun and success for you in your business. But is that the whole story?" Steph breaks down her recent (spontaneous) successful launch, and how exactly she sold 37 seats... without trying very hard at all. Both Megan and Steph also share the hard parts that aren't talked about as often: the fears, the uncertainty, and how we even make decisions about what things to try in our businesses in the first place. It might all look like a bunch of success, but there's a lot under the surface... explore it with us!

Have you ever asked, "is this as good as it's gonna get in my business?" In this episode of the Business Wisdom Series, Steph & Megan dive deep into plateaus -- what they are, why they happen, why they're normal and how to move past them. In the clarity part of the conversation, we give listener Beth some practical tips she can use when her business hits a plateau -- and this applies to all of us, beyond our businesses too! Beth's question What should I do when things feel stagnant? There is no growing going on. Is this just a season or is this as good as it gets? "If you feel like you've hit a wall, open the door and walk through." - Price Pritchett, "You Squared"

Running your own business on your own terms is awesome and everything but ... what about balance?  It's a question we get all the time, and if we're honest, it's something we're wrestling with all the time ourselves.  In this episode of the Business Wisdom Series, Steph & Megan set out to answer listener Amber's three different questions about this very tricky topic:  The balance between "what I really wanna be doing" and "what I need to do first" The balance between in person and online business, especially when you don't have many clients in either area  The daily balance, and what a "balanced" schedule might even look like for an experienced entrepreneur

Marianne's question: If you want to create a strong push for getting the word out, where would you focus your energy? In order to answer Marianne's question, we dig into the two pillars of business building: audience, and product. We're defining the "lie of productivity", examining the difference between working ON your business versus working IN your business, and sustainable vs. unsustainable growth. Megan's all about doubling down on the people she's already got, and Steph's instinct is to expand outward. Both strategies are necessary, so with our powers combined we're giving you a roadmap to building buzz and keeping the audience ball rolling while you're simultaneously building a product. This is a juicy, tactical tip conversation, and as listener Marianne warns, "Don't Bizdom & Drive -- you'll want to write everything down!"

In this episode of the Business Wisdom Series, Steph and Megan answer Patrick's question: Do I reduce my price to attract customers, or keep the price I set? We're dishing up a method to communicate the value of the customer transformation and how to set the prices in the first place. In the clarity part of the conversation, we've got tactical tips and advice for Patrick or anyone else struggling with pricing. Patrick's question: Should I reduce the price of my service to attract customers? Or should I stick to the price that I set and hope that sometimes they will understand the value that I'm offering? Steph's tactical tips for Patrick Reach back out to those people that you've been talking to about your services and see if you can get some feedback on where they're at. It is perfectly okay to play with your prices. There is an option to keep your prices where they are, not reduce them publicly. Megan's tips If you are getting stuck on price, it is either too high for your market or your value is not being communicated well enough. You need more experience and more information to really know which way to go. Find the number that corresponds with the value that you offer Three questions to ask yourself What price do I need this offering to be to help me meet my bottomline? How do I embody the value & how do I stand behind it? How do I communicate value effectively?

In this Business Wisdom Series episode, Steph and Megan discuss how to know if you're pushing yourself hard enough. We get into how to not compare yourself: to others, to other versions of yourself, to the past or future version of yourself. In the clarity part of the conversation, we dive into practical tips for you to achieve your goals all while feeling that you're doing enough. Lauren's question: As a part-time blogger who wants to go full-time someday, how do you know if you're pushing yourself hard enough? How do you gauge your pace and your progress without measuring your efforts against other people in your niche? How to avoid that demoralizing comparison trap but also avoid cuddling yourself into routines that may not be enough to get you to your goal? I'm very curious to know your thoughts on how you walk the line between self-compassion and your entrepreneurial hustle.

Ladies and gentlemen, a question Megan Hale & Steph Crowder have NEVER gotten before! Penny asks, "How important is it to figure out why I'm stuck? I know I'm stuck and I want to get unstuck. How much time and energy do you spend finding out why you're stuck rather than just looking for ways to get unstuck? How deep do we have to go into this particular 'Why' why am I stuck?" In this Business Wisdom Series episode (#4!), Megan & Steph share their ideas on how to get unstuck, how to identify your stuckness, and the processes involved. In the clarity part of the conversation, we're diving into practical tips and mantras to truly move past that stuck feeling. Megan's tips Realize that stuck doesn't mean all of you is stuck I know what I need to know when I need to know it Movement, how to focus on it, and how to walk alongside stuckness vs. stewing over it Steph's tips Don't look away from the scary image. I want you to write down, "What is the worst case scenario?" Learn when to stop thinking and start acting Trust "Future You" I make the best decisions I can with the information I have at the time

Ah, the internet -- a vast place chock full of free information. You can teach yourself to do just about anything using the web, from running a business to learning a new language. What a time to be alive! But, is it just us or is the sheer amount of STUFF out there just ... overwhelming sometimes? If you've ever hit information overload when it comes to online business advice, you aren't alone. Today's listener question, the third one in the Business Wisdom Series, comes from listener Madeline. She wants to know: How the the heck do you figure out who to really listen to? In this episode, we're talking about trusting the advice of others and how it can help make your business grow. We're also dishing real actionable tips to help you gauge whether your BS meter is finally tuned, or if it's time to scale back the noise and listen to YOU.

So we've all heard about the importance of growing an audience and that sounds all well and good, but... how in the world do you get actual people to start paying attention to you when you're starting from scratch?  Welcome to the second episode of our Business Wisdom Series, where my friend Megan Hale and I answer questions from amazing C&C listeners! In this episode, we're breaking down an excellent question we got from Karen: How do you get your FIRST 100 subscribers / followers / people other than your mom and boyfriend? We're talking about different ways you can engage and connect with people to help your business grow, and four big troubleshooting questions you can ask yourself if you're struggling to find some traction. 

My top secret co-host for the next 10 episodes, REVEALED! Learn who will be joining me to answer listener questions for this special series, and hear the answers to our first question: what we wish we knew when we started. Spoiler alert: it's a super juicy, no-holding-back conversation.

How does Elle Drouin manage to run THREE profitable businesses, and only work 3 weeks each month?! Yep, I had to know too! Tune in to hear Elle's 3 big tips for keeping it all together, and allowing herself more time for rest and creativity.

Ever find yourself at a cocktail party, mingling with some new people and you're waiting for it... the dreaded question... you know it's coming, and yet you already know you'll clam up when it does: "So, what do you do?" Yep, me too. And if you've ever felt yourself tripping over how to explain your work & your vision, especially to ideal customers, you'll love today's episode with business clarity coach, TEDx speaker and fellow podcaster, Adria DeCorte.

"What the heck should my brand look and feel like? What sets me apart? How do I show up in a sea of noise?" These are questions I hear a lot, and this week on the show Kaye Putnam is here to help us out in a major way. Kaye is a psychology-driven brand strategist for entrepreneurs. She helps business builders create drool-worthy brands that really underscore a core message. And bonus, she's got awesome free content on unlocking your brand advantage! In the courage part of the episode, Kaye shares her awkward start to online business and how trying to be "like everyone else" got her nowhere fast. Then in the the clarity part, she shares three exercises that all of us can dive into to uncover brand clarity. We're talking about attracting ideal clients and the importance of repeling bad fit ones. IN THE COURAGE PART, YOU'LL HEAR: Kaye's business and how she earns her living What she does on a daily basis when working with clients Her story and how she got to where she is right now How psychology fits in her business The story behind the awkward start of her online business How she reconciles all of the advice she gets from people - Developing her own tool to identify brand archetypes for herself & her audience AND THEN IN CLARITY, WE'RE TALKING: Three exercises to achieve brand clarity... Identifying your primary and secondary archetype ”I believe" exercise ”Flip the script" exercise