Work Less, Earn More

“This is it. I’ve figured it out. I know exactly what I need to do now,” I told my husband one day in the fall of 2016.   I’d just returned from a women’s business conference in San Diego. It was the first “big” event I’d attended, and I’d learned a lot.   Including, as it happened, the “missing piece” I needed to finally start making money with my online business.   My puzzle seemed so complete,...

  If you’re trying to grow your audience on social media, then you KNOW that there’s one thing that matters more than just about anything else…   Engagement.   It doesn’t matter what platform you’re on, the algorithm cares about the same thing: how much people engage -- or don’t -- with your content.   More engagement means people are paying more attention to your posts (good!) and the algorithm r...

First off, isn’t it so cool that we live at a time when information is so readily available?   The answer is out there to any question you might have… and it’s probably even just a Google search away!   But with more content created every day than you could ever possibly consume, this abundance of information can also be… overwhelming.   Information overload is real. And it can really hold you bac...

One of the toughest parts about being “young and broke” is not having the money to do some of the  responsible things you know you should be doing. Stuff like: buying (and eating) healthy food regular maintenance on your car extra insurance regular dental exams hiring a bookkeeper for your business   I hope you’re in a place right now where you can afford most of these things... because I know how...

One of the toughest parts of building a successful YouTube channel is just getting your first 1,000 subscribers.   Once you hit that coveted 4-figure mark, the algorithm takes over and (as long as you keep posting consistently...) practically grows your channel for you.   But how can you get those first thousand??   Everyone does it slightly differently, but hearing their stories can help you figu...

As you’re likely aware, we’re currently in the process of guiding a group of 130 students through the VALIDATE accelerator program, helping them figure out whether or not there’s demand for their business ideas.   I shared a lot last month about why this process is so essential--including the fact that it protects you from possibly wasting countless hours (even years) of your life on an idea that...

What's more profitable, online courses or self-published books?   A lot of people who are interested in making money by selling information (either as a course creator or author) consider these two options.   To some, the choice is obvious.   Of course it's online courses!   After all, everyone knows that "authors don't make anything."   And we've all heard plenty of stories of course creators who...

Behind every successful entrepreneur… there is a team supporting them.   In my first few years of business, it was just me – wearing all the hats, doing all the things, and responsible for everything.   But, as my business grew, I knew that I needed help; both so that I could keep my sanity and to be able to continue to grow.   After several failed attempts to hire help (mostly VA’s that I didn’t...

One of the biggest changes we’re making in 2021 is how we run the podcast. Instead of pre-recording and editing all the episodes before we release them, we’re now recording the show LIVE each week inside Startup Society , so that the members can listen in and participate by asking questions.   As I write this, I’ve just finished recording the first of these live sessions, and what a great intervie...

Will 2021 be any different?   Who’s to say…   Personally, as much as I’d love to think that 2021 will fix everything , what I really believe is that “a day is a day.” It doesn’t matter the label we put on it, it’s just a 24 hour period in which anything can happen; 24 hours we’re given to make the most of.   Or, in the words of Master Oogway:   “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but tod...

Patience is a virtue, but that doesn't mean you can't be TOO patient. And you know what? A lot of people are.   A lot of people waste a lot of time (+ energy and money) because they're patient. And dedicated. And committed. And motivated.   ALL GOOD THINGS. But also potentially problematic.   My dad said it this way: "Don't be afraid of being a quitter. Be willing to quit when you realize you're i...

How much do you want to earn in 2021?   I used to really dislike that ☝ question... because I had no idea how to answer it.   “What do you mean, ‘how much do I want to earn’? As much as I can, of course!”   It’s a lot like when you’re shopping for something expensive and the sales rep asks you, “So, what’s your budget?”   Of course, sometimes we DO have a budget, but a lot of the time I just want...

Several years ago, when I ran a digital marketing agency, I met an incredible woman named Margo Carroll.   At first, I didn't realize how incredible she was -- she was just another client who was hiring us to run her Facebook ads.   But the more I got to know Margo, see her work, and learn from her, the more impressed I became.   Not only does Margo do everything she takes on with integrity and se...

Are you more “left-brained” or “right-brained”?   We all have some balance between the more analytical and the more creative/emotional sides, but most of us lean more one way or the other.   A lot of entrepreneurs -- especially visionary, founder sorts -- are extremely creative, always coming up with new ideas and solutions. Many even refer to themselves as “creative entrepreneurs.”   Those right-...

Every month, I’m peeling back the curtain and sharing the ins & outs of my monthly revenue.   These income reports are an in-depth and honest look at how much my business earned, what it cost, and how many hours it took me to do it.   This is the very last income report of 2020. I’m glad I committed to doing monthly income reports -- it gave me accountability to really look at the numbers regu...

We all do it. We judge books by their covers… and also by their size.   Somehow we think that if a book has more pages then we’re going to get MORE out of it.   We do the same thing if we buy an online course: we think that if it was more expensive it’s going to be more valuable and that if we open it and it has more modules than we thought that we’re going to get A LOT more out of it. We assume,...

Two words: MIND. BLOWN.   I used to believe a LOT of myths about SEO, including: Google ranks websites higher if they’re frequently updated More content means your site has more chances of ranking well Adding target keywords to articles is the best way to tell Google what it’s about   And by “used to” I don’t mean years ago.   Nope… these are all myths I believed as recently as last week.   That i...

Sales funnels. You might be thinking: those are one of those complicated things everyone says you need in order to be successful, but really… they’re probably just a distraction from what you really need. Right? Actually… No. (Sorry, not sorry.) In fact, if there’s ONE thing a business needs -- it’s a sales funnel. Good news though! EVERY business (that successfully makes money) manages to check t...

Every month, I’m peeling back the curtain and sharing the ins & outs of my monthly revenue.   These income reports are an in-depth and honest look at how much my business earned, what it cost, and how many hours it took me to do it.   They say “time flies when you’re having fun,” and that’s exactly what we experienced in the month of October.   Somehow, we managed to launch THREE new sales fun...

Facebook ads are everything right now—and whether you hire it out to an ad agency or you DIY, the goal of your ads should always be to make a profit… which is harder than you might think.   If you’re DIYing it, you might be boosting a post here and there. Those kinds of activities might get your post in front of your audience—but a boost doesn’t necessarily translate to new customers or sales.   A...

Sometimes, the truth can be hard to swallow…   But knowing the truth empowers us to make the best decisions.   Here’s one of those truths: if you’re building an audience online, only 2% of your audience will EVER buy from you.   This goes whether you have 100 followers on IG, a million email subscribers, or anything in between.   Of course, we can work on improving that percentage, but we’ll never...

A few weeks ago, I gave my Instagram account a good clean out. I unfollowed a couple hundred accounts that weren’t really what I wanted or needed in my life right now.   Goal: to see more of the things I really care about!   The next day, as I scrolled through my feed, I saw a post from my friend Lucy.   Hey, it’s Lucy!, I said to myself. Man, I haven’t seen her in forever. I wonder how she’s been...

I’ve been a teacher for over 13 years now, and I’m confident this skill is part of my God-given purpose here on earth.   But for the first 8+ years of teaching, I didn’t earn a very good living from the work. I was tied down to my local area, my calendar was crammed with lessons, and I was barely able to support my family.   Eventually, I scaled my local business and things got a bit better -- but...

Every month, I’m peeling back the curtain and sharing the ins & outs of my monthly revenue.   These income reports are an in-depth and honest look at how much my business earned, what it cost, and how many hours it took me to do it.   It’s now October and it’s been two months since I returned from taking the summer off for maternity leave—and September’s income report shows that things are sti...

Creating content is hands down the MOST time-consuming work I do each week. Writing blog articles, filming videos, recording podcasts, posting on Instagram… the list could go on.   As a digital entrepreneur, you get it. Content creation is time consuming… and our TIME is limited.   But—and a big one at that!—content marketing works so well.   That’s why it’s so important to create helpful videos,...