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Not being intentional in your business is a bit like getting in your car and driving without the GPS. Sure…you generally know where you’re going. But what if a road is closed? What if there’s avoidable traffic? A GPS can help you navigate around those things.When you’re intentional about your business, you go from wandering aimlessly, taking any work that makes ends meet, to setting and achieving your goals. And today, I’m going to talk about how I’m being more intentional in my business, and why that decision has led me to end my membership.Top TakeawaysTake the time to identify tasks that provide the best returns on your time investment. Focus on work that aligns with your income goals and brings you closer to achieving your business objectives.Take control of your schedule by tracking your time and evaluating the effectiveness of your tasks. Use tools like time tracking apps to make data-driven decisions and maximize your productivity.Reflect on your business goals and values, and make decisions that align with them. Ensure that your business endeavors are in sync with what matters most to you and contribute to your overall happiness and success.

Do you really need social media to build a following? To build expertise? To be successful? It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I think lots of creators are too. The rote advice that you see from the ultra successful people just doesn’t work for most of us. And it doesn’t have to. What if I told you there was a better way. As it turns out, today’s guest, my friend and Amazon best selling author of the book start a binge-worthy podcast, Krystal Proffitt, agree: starting a podcast is a great way to build your business. In today’s conversation, we talk about why podcasting is the best way to build expertise and trust, why there aren’t too many podcasts, and how you can start a successful one. Plus, in the pro show, we talk all about how to do interviews the right way. Top TakeawaysPodcasts are a great, intimate way to get your content in the hands of your ideal audience. And, as Seth Godin put it, they are the generous act of showing up. You differentiate your podcast by making sure your audience feels seen and heard. This could (and should) be through relatable stories, and by engaging with them through feedback. The first thing you should think about, before you every consider which mic to buy, is what’s your message? Without a message, you don’t have a podcast. Show NotesKrystal ProffittMy interview with Krystal on Podcast AutomationAmy Porterfield

During the pandemic, we were told one thing seemingly over and over again: You need to start a membership. You need a community. That’s the only way you can scale your business. And to be honest, I fed into it. I believed that a membership was the key to stop trading for hours for dollars. But the truth is I was trading more hours for fewer dollars. See, what most solopreneurs don’t realize (what I didn’t realize for a long time) is that you’re always trading hours for dollars. That’s what work is. The key difference is how many hours you're trading for how many dollars. And that’s what Maggie Patterson is here to talk to us about today. See, when the pandemic ended, we both noticed something: many of those people who were preaching the importance of basing your business off a community or membership were going back to one thing: services. Because when you do services right, you can make a lot of money. Today, Maggie, who has over 15 years of experience successfully selling client services, tells us the key to unlocking more income: selling strategy. Top TakeawaysIt’s important to understand what kind of business you want to run. 1-to-1 business is a lot different from a 1-to-many business. And they require different strategies.The key is in pricing. Don’t just price on gut feeling. Tether it to some reality (like how much money you need to make to pay yourself, and run the business), and then listen for feedback. The market will tell you if you’re priced correctly. Too many solopreneurs give the strategy away for free in their proposal. They say exactly what they’re going to do. Instead, hold paid strategy sessions (sometimes called Discovery projects) where you get paid to truly understand the scope, and give the client something tangible. Show NotesMaggie PattersonReverse Salary CalculatorThe Best Advice I Never Took

Choosing the right platform can feel like an impossible task sometimes. There are so many options, from services to creating your own website and owning everything – how do you choose? Well, Nathalie Lussier and I have both been around the block. She owns a popular WordPress-based LMS called AccessAlly, and I’ve tried dozens of platforms for memberships, including ones I’ve built myself. So it was interesting timing when we both decided to start publishing on Substack in late November/early December. Today, we’re going to trade notes, going over why we decided to move there, what migration was like, and what we like and dislike about the platform. For members, we’ll discuss our timing to move within the context of a bigger controversy surrounding Substack. Top TakeawaysSocial Media for promoting and growing your work has been going downhill for a while now. But Substack has built in a number of features, like Notes and Recommendations, to incentivize sharing while also staying on the platform. One of Substack's best features is its interoperability. You can easily import email lists, content, and even paying subscribers through Stripe. And moving is easy too. Everything you can import, you can also export. The best way to leverage Substack’s network effect is to find your tribe – people who you can work with to restack, recommend, and follow on Notes. Just like any social network, don’t discount the “social” part. Show NotesThe Momentum MemoAccessAllyHow Knowing Your Customers Lets You Charge More with Nathalie Lussier

One of my favorite Disney+ shows is Loki. It’s a truly fascinating look at time travel, predetermined events, and controlling your own destiny.And now I’m going to give you a major (if not very simplified) spoiler, if you haven’t seen it.In the finale, Loki masters the ability to “time slip,” or transport to any time, any place, in any timeline (for all intents and purposes, a timeline is a parallel universe). This also allows him to relive events over and over again.So as all of existence faces eradication, he can take as much “time” as he wants to learn how to save everything and everyone, on every timeline.He continuously, over thousands of years, learns everything he needs to learn, and practices, through trial and error, to improve his process, and his odds of saving everything and everyone.And while we don’t have thousands of years, or the ability to time travel, we do have the ability to take a step back and consider the question, “What’s missing?”Read the full article here

It was Christmas Eve, and I was waiting in line for bagels.As someone who grew up in New York now living close to Philly, I’m admittedly a snob about the quality of the bagels I eat. But there’s a bagel shop not 5 minutes from my house that makes the best bagels I’ve ever had outside of NY/NJ.And they offer preorders for Christmas Eve. It’s become a bit of a tradition in our house to get those bagels and do a Christmas Eve brunch.They also have a select stock for people on a first come first serve basis. People who preorder can buy from this stock. The many preorders combined with the select stock creates a long line. After-all, these bagels are superb.So we waited.And during that wait, there were some people who complained about the wait1.But no one left the line or cancelled their order. After all, if all they wanted was bagels, they could have gone to the grocery store a few doors down and buy bagels immediately.But those are not even good bagels. And we wanted great bagels.See, there’s a dirty little secret that no one wants to hear these days:Great things require time. And they’re worth the wait.Read the full article hereIn the PRO show, I explain how I plan for conferences, and how I measure direct ROI from events. Join here.

I sweat bullets over finding the right tools. Some might say I am an Overthinker.And that is an asset to me. But occasionally, it causes crippling analysis paralysis. I’ve spent every day of this very young year, thinking about the implementation for my membership, even though I know the simplest solution is to use Substack. And last week, I would have told you that’s the end of the story. But it’s not.So today, I’m going to tell you about a journey that led me to Substack and grossly overcomplicating my publishing process. And why that could be a good thing.For members, we discuss how I’m managing multiple publishing places, why “Be Everywhere” is so important to me, and my goals for this experiment.

It was a wild year for social media in 2023. Twitter turned into X. Meta launched Threads. And LinkedIn started off the year as a promising platform for engagement and growth before tweaking the algorithm and tanking all of that. Matt Clark, founder of The Virtual Edge, host of the Rainmaker Show, and expert in sales argues that we shouldn’t treat LinkedIn like a social media platform because it’s not one. It’s a professional networking platform. That means we need to treat it more like a networking event if we want to make the most of it. And today, he’s going to tell us how. In the subscribers-only show, Matt and I talk more about building a lifestyle before you build your business. We touch on how people like Alex Hormozi oversimplify how they do things in order to push how "easy" it is to build a business. We also talk about the difference life choices we've made, and how our businesses support that — and what you should consider as well!  Top TakeawaysLinkedIn wants you to be intentional. That means you need to know WHO you’re talking to, and HOW you help them. Make sure your profile is optimized for your client. Do some research to figure out their biggest problem, and how you can fix it for them. If you don’t know where to start, run a poll. This will re-engage your connections. Ask 3-4 questions that are targeted to your ideal client. Then for the people who DO engage, follow up and ask to get on a quick call.Show NotesMatt ClarkMatt on LinkedinStop doing “Sales” and Start Having Conversations with Nikki RauschWhy You Need to be on LinkedIn if You’re a Creator with Kathleen CelminsHow to be a Scrappy Researcher (to Actually Sell Products) with Becky Pierson DavidsonPower vs. ForceLeonardo Da VinciChris LemaSponsored by: Liquid Web

The word 'Control' evokes various thoughts and emotions, many of which are negative. Control is often associated with an excessive desire to dominate or dictate every aspect of a situation.The bad guys in movies and in real life desire control at almost any cost. Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars said the only way to improve life in the galaxy was for him to seize control. Thanos said the only way to save the universe was to control the population by controlling the infinity stones.Countless dictators and wannabe dictators have justified taking control because they’re the only ones who can save us.It sounds micro-managy, almost authoritarian when you say, “I want to be more controlling.”But Control at the right scale is super important. If you don’t control your car, bike, or other vehicle, for example, you will end up hurting yourself or someone else.In thinking about my next yearly theme, a recent conversation I had with my therapist was top of mind. I told her that I didn’t feel like I was in control of anything. Not my health. Not my money. Not my time or schedule.That's why my 2024 Yearly Theme is *The Year of Control.*For members, we discuss the themes I didn’t choose, how the membership will work in 2024, and the direction of the podcast in general. You can join here. LinksMy 2024 Yearly ThemeFavorites of 2023Cortex 2024 Yearly Themes

Over the last few weeks, you’ve heard from multiple guests about the importance of research – Dappz talking about calculated risks and doing research for the actual calculation. Nikki Rausch talking about speaking your potential customer’s language. Adriana tells us to do research when we’re guesting on a podcast. But that begs the question: how? How do we make sure we’re doing the right kind of research to yield helpful information – especially if we’re not a huge company? We need to do scrappy research – which is why I brought in my friend, Becky Pierson Davidson. She’s an educator, speaker, and community-driven product strategist who’s focused on helping people like us simplify our customer journey, improve retention, and increase customer LTV. And she’s got the receipts, working with diverse clients, including personal brands, fortune 500 companies, creative service agencies, and startups.So I thought there was no better way to close out the year than to talk to her about scrappy research. Top TakeawaysResearch prevents you from building the wrong thing. Launches that flop are usually launches that have no research backing them up. Don’t just build something for you. It’s not about you. Sure, some people will tell you to dog food your own product – but your business won’t survive if you’re the only customer. You want quantitative and qualitative research. Look at all of your analytics, see what content performs well, but also survey your audience, and have real conversations with potential customers. You only need 5 to find a problem to solve. Show NotesBecky Pierson DavidsonBecky on InstagramBecky on LinkedinGet $100 off Journey Makers Live with code FRIENDOFJOESteve Woodruff "King of Clarity"Sponsored by: Sensei

A few weeks ago, I ruffled some feathers on social media. I said, “Telling people you wrote your book with AI is like telling people you ran a marathon with your car.” Wow. People took umbrage with that statement. And while I stand by what I said, I thought it would be a good idea to talk to an AI expert. So I reached out to Bryan McAnulty of Heights Platform to see me (or everyone else) straight. And you know what he told me? We’re all doing it wrong. We shouldn’t use AI as a proxy for Google. We should use it as an actual assistant. And for that, we need to give it a ton of context.Top TakeawaysInstead of thinking of AI as a tool, think of it as an instrument. You need to learn how to play it and personalize it to play your kind of music. In the long run, you won’t be able to use AI to cheat, because what makes your content unique is your personal experiences. Since AI works on how you train it, You can have as many AI assistants as you want. It doesn’t just have to be one.Show NotesBryan McAnultyObsidianSmart ConnectionsCopilotCortex PodcastAll the News from Open AI's First Developer ConferenceHeights PlatformCreator ClimbSponsored by: Sensei

Imagine that you’re going to give a talk on a topic you know really well. You spend time on the presentation, rehearse it 100 times, dial in the slides, and you’re feeling great. You get the conference, deliver the talk, and you think you nailed it. But when you ask for questions, one person raises her hand and says, “Nous ne parlons pas anglais.”That’s right. You just delivered your talk in English, and the entire audience speaks French. You made an assumption that you knew that audience. And the conference host made that same assumption. Now the effects, or embarrassment, may not be as strong if you guest on a podcast, but they can cut against your credibility, and potentially waste your time…and the audience’s time. That’s why you need to be prepared. And that’s exactly what public speaking coach (and fantastic guest) Adriana Baer is going to talk to us about today. We chat about everything from research to storytelling, and she even has a few bonus tips. Be sure to stick around until the end for a special bundled deal we’re offering. Top TakeawaysPodcast guesting is a gift. While the rest of the world lives in 5 second sound bites, podcasts give us the time and space to flex our expertise.To be an effective podcast guest, you need to do your research. Understand who you’re talking to, and how you can help them. You need to tell good stories – you do that but having some prepared, but also by actively listening to the host. Show NotesAdriana BaerWhy Podcast Interviews are a Content Goldmine with Tom SchwabThe Digital Storytelling Aspect of PodcastingThe Solopreneur's Gift GuideSponsored by: Sensei

Recently, I sat down to dinner with my family when the doorbell rang. It was a door-to-door HelloFresh salesman, who wanted to make dinner easier for us (while ironically preventing me from eating dinner). I immediately got frustrated for two reasons: It was dinner time and the interruption was unwelcomedI had already told this guy’s partner “no” several hours earlier. It was a conversation that not only was unwelcome but was already flat-out rejected once before. This sort of tactic is what gives sales a bad name, and why folks like us hate sales. But today’s guest, Nikki Rausch, is here to tell us that’s not at all how sales should work – and what we should do instead. Top TakeawaysSales isn’t a one-way street. It’s a collaborative conversation that you have permission to enter into. And you get permission by asking. The person you’re speaking to has their own language – you need to tailor your offer to meet their needs and use their language. Never make assumptions! You can’t further a relationship without asking questions. Assumptions are driven by limiting beliefs. Questions lead to concrete answers.Show NotesNikki RauschWhat Prepared Plumbers Can Teach You About Winning BusinessThe Selling Staircase: Mastering the Art of RelationshipMastering the Sales ConversationSponsored by: Sensei

Social media advice these days reminds me a bit of the parable of the Emperor with no Clothes. See, it's easy for anyone to display how smart and successful they are. They say things like, "Here's your content strategy for 2024: Post three times on X daily, post one thread on X daily. Create three LinkedIn posts per day and one LinkedIn carousel per week." People read that and think, "That's easy to understand," without realizing that just posting content is not a strategy at all. I often think about how people perceive me and my show because I consider myself a successful podcaster. But I also feel conflicted – I don't feel I've done a good job of leveraging this show to grow my audience. So, I've decided to have my friend, Zach Swinehart, come on to talk about how I can improve my conversions for this show.However, it almost feels a bit like the emperor has no clothes. Am I putting myself out there? Am I letting myself be too vulnerable? I guess you’re about to find out.Top TakeawaysWhen it comes to determining your lead magnet, you should test a few to see which resonates.When you're testing calls to action or lead magnets in a podcast, you should try a few different spots with a few different links.Know who you're talking to and try to understand your audience by looking at their pain points and objections.Show NotesDouble Your Email List Growth Rate in 29 minutesCheck out the full interview over on Zach's podcast, Full Time CreatorPersonalization is the Path Forward with Brennan DunnSponsored by: Sensei

How much help is too much help? When do you go from the actual worker to the visionary? And where does AI fit into all of this? Over on LinkedIn, I said using AI to write your book is like using a car to run a marathon. People took issue with that. So my friend Alastair MeDermott and I decided to have a good old fashioned debate. You’ll hear a nuanced discussion around:How to think about AI assistance in writing and content creationWhere AI can help versus replace in the creative processHow iterative prompting can shape the AI outputWhether AI will ever replicate truly original human ideasThe importance of the human editorial eye in approving AI-generated contentWhat we potentially stand to lose in fully outsourcing creative work to machinesIf you’re feeling uncertain about how to responsibly and effectively leverage AI tools like ChatGPT in your business and content creation, don’t miss this lively exchange of perspectives. Tune in now to help shape your own ethical framework.Check out Alastair's podcast over at https://therecognizedauthority.com/ 

Imagine making $70,000…from your bedroom…in one night. That’s exactly what Matt “Dappz” McGuckin did with his online trading cards shop. He got his start “breaking” – that is, buying and opening boxes of cards live online, and selling the contents…all on TikTok. Sounds risky? It is! But today, Dappz Sports is the Live Shopping Company on TikTok in the U.S., making over $20 Million in gross sales. So the risks have paid off. Now maybe it seems like too far-fetched to say you’ll make $70K in one night, but it’s not too far-fetched to say that making calculated risks will elevate your business. It’s a proven strategy and Dappz, and today, he’s going to tell you how you can do it too. Top TakeawaysDon’t try to think about how you’ll go viral. Instead, be consistent and try different things. Experimenting can be low-stakes risk-taking. One of the biggest risks that pay off is hiring someone. They will take SO much off your plate. It sounds scary, but it’s a must for any business owner. Research is SO important with it comes to mitigating risk – remember, this is about calculated risks, not being a cowboy, and doing crazy stuff to see if it pays off. Show NotesMatt "Dappz" McGuckinMatt on TiktokThe Social Dilemma on NetflixSponsored by: Sensei

Over the years, I’ve published a great many gift guides on my blog. From freelancers, to podcasters, to working from home, and even my hobbies — like pens and cigars. And this year is no different.But given my relatively new focus on helping solopreneurs (and the fact that the “Work from Home” guide is starting to feel a little stale), I’ve decided to change things up in 2023.That's why this year, I'm introducing the Solopreneur's Gift Guide. Enjoy! LinksThe 2023 Solopreneur's Gift GuideView on Casabona.orgRecording / Video Conference GearElgato FacecamElgato Facecam ProLive Stream kitSamson Q2U Sennheiser PC 8 USB Headset Podcaster’s Gift GuideHue LightsElgato Key Light | Key Light AirNeewer 2 PackLume Cube for Video ConferencingHome OfficeSteelcase HON ChairsRoller Blade Wheels for Office ChairsJarvis by FullyE7 by FlexiSpotMoft Sit-Stand Laptop DeskTwelve SouthLogitech MX Master 3 Keycron K2 Pro Mechanical KeyboardErgonomic keyboard from MicrosoftMonitor Arm by FullyAt Home TechWestern Digital My Book  BackblazeSynology 2 Bay Storage NAS +  some hard drivesWestern Digital Portable Hard DriveSamsung’s T7 portable SSDAirPods Pro IISkullcandy headphones Bose QuietComfort 45 Noise Cancelling headphones Audio-Technica ATH-M50sStream Deck GaNPrime Hybrid Power Bank / Wall ChargerMagSafe 3-in-1 Charging Cube (perfect for travel)Nano USB-C Power BankStands by Lab22ProductivitySidekick NotebookSidekick NotepadWilliam Hannah A5 Classic NotebookCheck out my Pen guideAnalog from UgmonkTodoistMindNode  BearUlyssesApp Store Gift Card SetappComforts of HomeCometeerKru DoomcupReading Jazzy JavaRook NicaraguaNespressoOXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee GrinderMahabis SlippersTravel / Outside the HouseWaterField Designs Sling bag from NomaticTimbuk2.Kindle ScribeAirTagsAirFly by Twelve SouthAt Your BestForget the FunnelThis is PersonalMade to Stick

Do you remember the most awkward moments of your life? One for me was definitely the day I was defending my master’s thesis. I was explaining a complex algorithm, when my advisor interrupted me and said, “Well…that’s not really how it works.”  In front of my classmates, other faculty, and a number of friends who showed up out of support.As you can imagine, I was mortified – until recovered, finished the presentation, and said, If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Unless it’s about that one algorithm. They you can ask Dr. Bishop.” That got laughs, and I finished strong. I learned an important lesson that day: awkwardness will happen. It’s how you handle it that has a lasting effect. And that’s exactly what Dr. Henna Pryor is going to talk about with us today. She’s a keynote speaker, and her best-selling book, Good Awkward, came out in September with endorsements from people like NFL Quarterback Russell Wilson. Top TakeawaysWe are living in a society that increasingly doesn’t need to use its “social skills” muscle. We don’t have to interact with as many people, and it’s making us feel worse. Awkward goes hand-in-hand with uncertainty. That means if you never want to feel awkward, you’ll never grow. In order to embrace uncertainty, and therefore awkwardness, we need to create more situations to “practice” than the current world gives us. Show NotesHenna PryorHenna Pryor BookHenna on LinkedinHenna on InstagramHow to Stand Out When Everything is Competing for Attention with Steve WoodruffSponsored by: Sensei

A family walks into a talent agency, and says, “Have we got the act for you…”If you’re familiar with this opening to a joke, you may have had a visceral reaction to it — either you think it’s hysterically funny, shamefully disgusting, or both. It’s the opening to the joke, The Aristocrats, and if you have a weak stomach, I don’t suggest you look it up.See, the point of this joke isn’t actually the punchline, which is right in the title. The point is to see how long you can improv a shocking, disgusting, offensive story.You can think about it as a secret handshake among comedians, that became not so secret after a 2005 documentary came out about it.It going me thinking about the importance of telling a story.This week, I got to speak to my friend Nick Benson’s college classes about Digital Storytelling.Don’t worry, I didn’t tell The Aristocrats.Instead, I spoke to them about why storytelling is so important in any content you create, especially podcasting.Read the article here: https://podcastliftoff.com/podcast-storytelling/ 

In a way, the chaotic start to our interview, followed by a calm, cool conversation, is a metaphor for Jordan’s business journey this year. See, this isn’t just a story about how to hire good people for your business. It’s a cautionary tale, and proof that running a business is about always learning and adjusting. Jordan runs an agency of high-level remote assistants. Today, she’s telling us her own trials and tribulations with making what seemed to be the right hiring call but ended up plunging her business into a few chaotic months. Don’t worry though, through patience and vigilance, she came out on the other side in a much better position. Plus, in the PRO show, we talk about what she’s doing for me…and why she’s contributed to me potentially leaving Airtable for Notion.Top TakeawaysYou need to share your mission with your team early on. This ensures that you’re both aligned on the same values – which will form a stronger bond than a paycheck. Know when to communicate. Jordan saw that through hiring contractors, they were taking on too much, and as a result, the quality of their work slipped. Clear communication could have prevented the worst outcome for her: loss of clients. Know when to cut ties. Jordan saw that for her agency, a contractor relationship would not work. So she pivoted and decided to hire full-time employees instead. It took several months to find the right fit, but she’s happy she didn’t rush into the decision. When you do bring on new employees, make sure to have a rock-solid, hands-on training program. This will allow them to start learning and doing, from day 1.Show NotesJordan EatonSponsored by: Lulu | Sensei