Beyond Better with Stacy Ennis

Meet Amy Lafko, a client who has seen great success—both with her book and her business—after the publication of her best-selling book, People First: A Proven Method for an Exceptional Healthcare Practice . While surprised at becoming an author, Amy’s love for People First concepts drove her to writing a book that she loves. It has elevated her keynote career and shaped the work she does with clie...

As an expert in traditional publishing, Meghan Stevenson helps clients get the book deal of their dreams. She helps entrepreneurs and experts become published authors and has helped her clients earn more than $4 million from major publishers. In this conversation, she explains the importance of the three p’s—potential, platform, proposal—when it comes to having the highest chance of success in get...

I’m pleased to welcome one of the foremost publishing experts, Jane Friedman. Jane has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet , the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, which was named 2020 Media Outlet of the Year by Digital Book World. I’ve been following Jane’s work...

Misty Megia is a creative producer extraordinaire who has helped craft and produce keynotes on some of the biggest stages in the world. After leaving her high-profile Fortune 500 position on February 26, 2020, to start her own company, Misty lost $85,000 in contracts in one day as events around the US were cancelled due to the pandemic—income she’d been counting on for the first few months of her...

This podcast episode is a recording of past webinar I did on the book-writing process. This training replay covers an overview of the book-writing process, including the why behind a book (so important!). You’ll learn the difference between the creation and production processes, and we'll deep dive into creation: idea, outline, write, and revise. We’ll also take a high-level look at production: de...

Growing your influence and impact as an author requires more than just writing a book people want to read. You need to show up with passion, purpose, and consistency to develop a solid author platform that attracts an audience. In this episode, I talk with founder and CEO of Amplify Publishing and Mascot Books, Naren Aryal. Along with solid advice for growing a thought leadership platform as an au...

Money. It’s one of the biggest sources of stress entrepreneurs face. This week, Octavia Conner, founder and CEO of Say Yes to Profits, shares some of her top strategies to go from financial distress to abundance—and grow your company as you grow your money mindset. Octavia Conner has been quoted in Forbes and featured in Afro Tech and Intuit. Selected as a top-50 accountant in North America for tw...

Michael Zipursky is the CEO of Consulting Success®, a consulting business that specializes in helping entrepreneurial consultants grow profitable, scalable, and strategic businesses. We talk about Michael’s journey through multiple businesses and how he transitioned from burning the midnight oil to structuring his business in a way that supports a lifestyle of freedom. He shares what a healthy ent...

In this week's solo episode, I share three core stages of my business, the mindset changes I made along the way, and the support I leaned on to make my dreams happen. I also share why my husband decided to be a stay-at-home dad, and how we have made decisions in alignment with the life we want— not what society thinks we should do. I recorded this episode on Independence Day in the US, as I was re...

This week, I’m joined by Jeffrey Shipley, cofounder of TONIC Site Shop. In this insightful, vulnerable discussion, we cover effective website design, and Jeffrey shares practical action steps to create a website that effectively communicates your brand and converts. My favorite part of this interview? His story. We discuss mistakes and lessons learned along his entrepreneurial journey cofounding T...

Rhea Allen is the president and CEO of Peppershock Media, a full-service marketing and advertising agency with creative production services that has been building brands and bottom lines since 2003. In this episode, Rhea shares how she took a sports marketing and television background and turned it into a successful marketing company. We talk building business brands, evolving into the “new” media...

This week, I speak with Renée Warren, an award-winning entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, author, and founder of We Wild Women, a platform that helps women grow wildly successfully companies. She has over 23 years of experience as an entrepreneur running marketing and PR agencies. In this episode, we discuss her personal journey to entrepreneurship, founding and running a PR company, the challen...

This week, I’m joined by my friend and marketing leader Madeline Pratt. Madeline Pratt is the founder and CEO of Fearless Foundry, a creative consulting firm that specializes in helping ambitious entrepreneurs with their marketing, branding, and business development. Madeline is a thoughtful, intentional business strategist and marketer. In this episode, we discuss her personal journey to entrepre...

This week, I’m pleased to welcome one of the foremost publishing experts, Jane Friedman. Jane has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet , the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, which was named 2020 Media Outlet of the Year by Digital Book World. I’ve been following J...

A couple weeks ago, I hosted an alumni celebration for graduates of my program, Nonfiction Book School. As part of the event, I asked past students to share their stories. And—wow—I was so inspired! I knew I had to share their stories with you too. This week, I’m sharing a live Facebook broadcast with five authors discussing how they accomplished their goal of authorhood. Don’t miss this inspiring...

Many aspiring authors anchor to one thing early in the book-writing process—often before they’ve even written a word: potential book sales. They do the math: how many books will I have to sell to make back my investment (time and money)? But that’s a false equation, because the true ROI of a book isn’t as simple as calculating the number of books sold by your author royalty per book. In fact, the...

*Important: I’m running a FREE 5-day writing challenge March 14–18. Register now. * In this episode, I answer your questions, gathered from a survey sent to my email list . They include: How do you make time to create and write? Aside from growing your business, what work-related topics are you interested in (my answer goes beyond work!)? Can you dig into how to build an audience? As always, I aim...

Your kid opens your door. Your email chimes. The delivery person rings the doorbell . . . three times. Your partner calls out from the other room to ask what you need from the grocery store. We’ve all been interrupted while writing, and sometimes those interruptions can completely derail focus and flow. In this episode, I detail my best advice for reengaging your brain, so you can reconnect with f...

If you’ve never heard the term “go-to-market strategy,” this week’s episode will shift everything about how you approach marketing. I’m joined by Christina Del Villar, author, marketing expert, and client who has rocked the marketing world since releasing her book, Sway: Implement the GRIT Marketing Method to Gain Influence & Drive Corporate Strategy . With over twenty-five years of experience...

This week, I speak with lawyer-turned-Indie Business Network founder, Donna Maria. In this episode, we talk about creating a clear life vision, building a lifestyle business, growing an audience, and leveraging that audience for business success. Donna Maria is an author, award-winning home-based business advocate, and Certified Entrepreneur Mentor. Her personal story will inspire you to build you...

Looking to build a platform to establish yourself as a thought leader? I've got you covered. This week's solo episode dives deeply into both the experience of building one (mine) and nine practical steps to build yours. Whether you're an aspiring or published author, entrepreneur, or looking to build a powerful personal brand, this episode is for you. Best of all, I’ve created a free, detailed gui...

Have you ever wondered how people become a go-to authority in their industry? Back when I started my business in 2009, I wondered that very question. I looked at successful people in my space, scratched my head in confusion, and wondered how the heck they ended up so successful. Today, more than twelve years and multiple national and global brand campaigns later, I understand that being seen as an...

Anyone building a personal brand knows that the more attention, the better. But how do you gain the right kind of attention—media features and audience growth—that positions you as an expert in your industry? This discussion with public relations pro Kristen Elworthy details the intersection between a personal brand and PR, and offers practical advice for an expert positioning strategy. Whether yo...

When I started my business as a side hustle in 2009, I dreamed of becoming my own boss someday. I know what it’s like to look to people who are doing the thing and wonder, how the heck did they get there? In this episode, Melinda Emerson, known as America’s #1 small business expert, shares her advice for anyone looking to start or grow a small business. She also shares hard-won insights from twent...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to break the 9-to-5 and run a business completely of your design? Kate Peterson, author-illustrator of the newly released travel journal, Around the World and Back Again , did just that. In this episode, she shares how she journeyed from unhappy, full-time employee to landing a coveted book deal with Penguin Random House; overcame fear and self-doubt to...