No BS Mastery Podcast

This month, I’m breaking down my No BS Blueprint to $30K — the process that I’ve developed over many years, and currently teach in my program, to scale your business to $30K-months without employees. In this episode, we’re talking about the third and last phase of the Blueprint, which is building your authority. Who doesn’t want to be seen as an authority in their field? Being seen as an authority...

This month, I’m breaking down my No BS Blueprint to $30K — the process that I’ve developed over many years, and currently teach in my program, to scale your business to $30K-months without employees. In this episode, I’m giving you a deep dive into the second phase: Intensives. Most people who sell graphic design services, branding services, copywriting, or a combination of all of these, pitch the...

This month, I’m breaking down my No BS Blueprint to $30K — the process that I’ve developed over many years, and currently teach in my program, to scale your business to $30K-months without employees. In this episode, I discuss in depth the first phase: Clients. Clients are the necessary foundation because without clients, we have no business. The question is how do you get clients? How do you find...

What does it really take to scale a one to two person branding agency to $30,000 months without employees? Every business has a lot of moving parts, and most of us have tried different things to make it work, but it really does come down to some fundamental truths. The No BS Blueprint to 30K, which I developed over years of experience and that I now teach to agency owners, breaks it down to three...

Everybody wants to be authentic and to have a unique voice in everything they do — from their blog posts to social media updates to their podcast episodes. But how does one find and develop their voice? This episode is brimming with voice. But just like Laura Belgray’s recently published book, this isn’t a “how to” episode. Instead, this conversation is a shining  example of how it is to be ‘out t...

It’s tempting to think you can create a digital product, sit back, and let the money roll in.  But it’s not that simple. Selling digital products and other forms of “passive income” takes a LOT of work to get up and running. There’s nothing passive about passive income. Today I’m digging into the biggest misconceptions about “passive” products, what it takes to create and sell them, and what you s...

The experience of the seller when selling low-priced services may be different from their experience when selling high-priced services. But from the buyer’s perspective, it requires the same thing: Trust. This is why the Lead Product is the best first step to let the buyer experience your authority, process and solution to their problem. When the Lead Product experience is done right, you’ll be ab...

Why did you start your branding agency? I’m guessing it was because you love the creative work you were doing as a graphic designer or copywriter at an agency and you loved executing the work so you decided to strike out on your own. And I’m going to guess that selling your services is your least favorite part of running your own agency. I talk about sales here a lot precisely because so many peop...

I am so excited to welcome a very special guest to the podcast today, Amanda Dahler. Amanda is the founder of Outspoke Design. She is an audience experience architect and communication expert who specializes in engaging events and experiences. She uses brand, experience, and visual design to create awesome audience content for transformative coaches, consultants, and leaders. Her services amplify...

Chasing profit is not the same as chasing revenue.  But most people in the small agency world confuse the two. And I believe this is one of the main reasons why they are not as successful in their business as they want to be, or should be! It’s only by prioritizing profit that you can build a business that gives you the freedom and flexibility you want. But this requires not only differentiating p...

“We'll help you stand out from the competition.” That's what most branding agencies say they're going to help you do. And yet, these days standing out feels harder and harder. Everybody’s trying to stand out. And when everybody does what makes them seem different, it starts to all look the same. One of the first things I teach inside the No BS Agency Mastery Program is the importance of shining to...

Everybody wants to be seen as an expert. But that’s only going to happen if you have expertise and you position yourself as an expert. Think about your worst client experience ever. We’ve all had “nightmare” client scenarios. I’ve been in many of those myself.  But once I started showing up as an expert , things changed. It turns out that I had something to do with those nightmare client scenarios...

This month, we are comparing and contrasting ideas from the No BS Agency Mastery model with the way people commonly do these stuff out in the world. First up, what’s the difference between VIP Days and Intensives? When I say that we build entire brands in one-to-three day intensives, people often think of VIP days. Which makes them question how we can possibly build an entire brand and a bespoke w...

I'm so excited to introduce you to one of my favorite students, Emily Wilkins.  What I love about her story and her evolution in the No BS Agency Mastery Program is that she didn't waste any time going all in on a niche once she realized it was the niche for her.  When she first came into the program, she was working with everybody. But after going through the “niching” exercise, it became immedia...

I've been teaching how to successfully close and deliver a Lead Product for about eight years now. Over the years, I have read tons of Lead Product briefs. I have seen all kinds of ways that people and I have seen the same mistakes happen over and over again. So today, I want to share the top five mistakes that I see people make when they execute a Lead Product. Tune into this episode to hear: How...

The Lead Product is a fundamental part of the No BS Agency model.  It's something that I have been teaching for over eight years, not just in the branding space but in other industries as well. I've had people implement this in finance, in law, in all kinds of coaching, and more. The Lead Product continues to be one of the biggest game changers in business. And I want to share with you how it all...

One of the biggest challenges that small agencies have is closing clients on big projects. It’s hard to get clients to pay the premium rates you want them to pay in order to deliver your highest value. And on top of that, a lot of small agency owners hate sales! Well, have I got an idea for you. I want to tell you about the Lead Product method. This is a process that I implemented in my business o...

Today, I’m delighted to share an interview with one of my favorite students, Lisa Greensill. I loved working with Lisa because she showed up and took action, and her results reflect that. And what I love about her story isn’t just that she was able to make more money in less time, but it also impacted how she enjoys her life with her family. Lisa Greensill is a brand and copy strategist and co-cre...

The day I realized that we were $40K in debt was a major turning point in our business. We had maxed out credit cards, had to fire our two employees, and had to figure out a completely new plan for the business. Changing our business model to selling intensives worked, but we were still hustling all the time,  even though we were now making more than enough money to support ourselves, the business...

Back in 2013, I joined the Accelerator Program of EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization) as an investment to grow my business. I learned a ton from the program, made great connections and some great friends. But one major thing I learned through that experience wasn’t something they taught. Through the program, rubbing elbows and networking with other members, I learned that people whose businesses wer...

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Born on third, thought they hit a triple?” It refers to somebody who was born into wealth or privilege, or has some sort of advantage over other people, but they don’t recognize it. They think they got where they are on their own. Or have you ever admired somebody’s success in business only to find out they had a partner who had a successful corporate executive job...

Amanda Dahler has been a student of mine who has had so much success implementing the program that she’s now helping me scale No BS Mastery! She’s especially good at lead generation and finding new business. That’s why I have her on the show to wrap up our month-long conversation around lead generation. Amanda Dahler is the founder of Outspoke Design. She is an audience experience architect and co...

A lot of people in the service industry use the free consultation strategy to get leads. You have most likely seen this on websites:  “Book a free 15-minute consultation!” or “Book a Free Strategy Session!”  Maybe you even do this yourself.  To be blunt, I hate this strategy. And in this episode, I explain why I strongly believe that you should never give away free consultations to get clients and...

Do most or all of your leads come from word of mouth or referrals? Do you feel lucky that you've never had to market before because they always come? Word of mouth is one of the most common ways that small one-to-two person branding agencies get their clients. In fact, the majority of the people I talk to say that 90% or more of their business comes from word of mouth or referrals. Which is great,...

The sales and marketing part of your business is the lifeblood of your business. Without marketing and sales, you have no lead generation. Without leads, you have no business. Because that’s what it takes to get clients to pay you. And a business without paying clients is not a business. So of course lead generation is on the forefront of everybody’s minds. It’s something that even when you’re suc...