Streamlined Solopreneur: Build Systems so Your Business Supports Your Life

John Vuong know SEO. But he knows relationships even more. AT a time where connecting with people face-to-face has become harder, John offers some fantastic advice for forging better relationship through communication - both with your current clients, and the ones that will soon be clients. Show Notes John Vuong Local SEO Search | Facebook | Twitter The Pumpkin Plan Building Your Mailing List with...

I know what you're thinking - another podcast doing another episode about COVID-19. But now that we're in the thick of it, and we know it's not just "a few weeks at home," I wanted to reach out to some businesses and see what they were doing differently. There were some really great ideas. And you'll get 3 tips to help you think outside the box. Show Notes Shannon Shaffer | Listen to her episode J...

Let me just tell you right off the bat: my business has grown from my mastermind group. And Ken Wallace…well he really knows what he's talking about. If you need some extra business support (especially now), you're not alone. In fact, Ken has bet his own business on it.  In this episode, you'll learn what a Mastermind Group is, how it works, and some ideas for conducting one. There's a little some...

In August 2018 I was challenged to automate more. Now, nearly 2 years later, I've removed myself from core processes because of it. I'm saving lots of time, which allows me to focus on the important parts of my business. While I'm always looking to improve, I'm happy with what I've implemented so far. In this solo episode, I'm going to tell you about how you can start automating, how I automate, a...

As more businesses are starting to do commerce nearly exclusively online, it's important to know how your customers are finding you and how they make decisions. Enter Ronald Gijsel, the Community and Partnerships Manager at Yith.  He's going to tech us all about the customer's journey and FREE tools to help us figure it out. His tips will help us understand our customers to, sure, sell more, but m...

Last week we heard from Maddy Osman about how to make money on marketplaces - and at the core of that is being able to productize your services. Now sure how to do that? Well, Brian Casel has you covered. His advice has inspired me to start offering a new service myself, and I know he'll do the same for you. Now is a great time to start looking at how you can make your business more predictable, a...

 Maddy Osman has a unique approach to her business and agency - and it’s mostly around getting gigs on FIverr and other marketplaces. When she first told me about that, I was blown away! I didn’t think someone state-side could make a good income off of Fiverr. Maddy has proved me wrong - and offers fantastic advice how you can get started too.  Show Notes Maddy Osman | Twitter How to Make Money on...

 Sara Dunn is one of my favorite people to talk to, and for good reason. She’s fun, honest, and has a lot of great insight! Today we’re following up on episode 69, where we talked about her starting to niche down. Now, 2 years and nearly 100 episodes later, she’s fully into her niche business. We talk about making some tough decisions, and how to stay motivated. I truly think this is something eve...

 Vito Peleg runs a very popular WordPress plugin called WP Feedback, but did you know he also runs a community under the same name? In this episode we talk all about the importance of community in growing your business. Now, during this episode we talk a lot about in-person events, and as I record this intro, there aren’t a whole lot of events going on right now. But digital communities are on the...

 I’ve known Matt Adams for the better part of a decade - we’ve worked on some interesting projects together, which we’ll reminisce about as we dive into how he’s built an agency out of what started as a freelance career. We talk a lot about something that’s hard for a lot of freelancers to talk about: cashflow. Feast, Famine, and Client Relationships have been themes of this season and they all re...

 Nathan Ingram is a fantastic freelancer, educator, and coach. I met him doing iThemes Webinars and he always manages to ask the right questions and tee up the right talking points. I’m excited to talk to him today about how to manage client relationships. Last week we heard from Erin Flynn about her process for working less and mentioned the importance for finding the right clients. Nathan is goi...

 Erin Flynn is one of my favorite people to talk to. We are in a Master Mind group together and her insight and approach is always appreciated. Today, we’re talking about how she’s managed to build a business around literally working 2-4 hours a day. Recently she tweeted that she worked 1/4 the “normal job” hours and still hit her income goal. We’re going to talk about how she does it, and how you...

Last week, you heard from Angel Marie about the importance of building your list, and how you can use ConvertKit to do it. Today, I decided to pull back the curtain and tell you exactly how I use ConvertKit.  Show Notes Get ConvertKit Building Your Mailing List with Angel Marie How to Set Up a Landing Page with ConvertKit Pointing a Custom Domain to a ConvertKit Landing Page Sponsored by: Yith | T...

 I’m so excited to be talking to Angel Marie,  the Creator Educator over at ConvertKit this week. And we’re talking about one of my favorite topics: building your list. I’ve become a huge proponent of this over the last couple of years, and the contributing factors have been this podcast, my move into products, and the educator I got from people at ConvertKit like Angel. This is such a rich episod...

 Ben Collins’ story is an interesting one! He went from forensic accountant to creating and selling online courses about Google Sheets - talk about niching down! But we talk about more than that. We also talk about location independence, and what it’s like moving from an office to working from home, with a family. Lots of great stuff in this episode, so let’s dig in.  Show Notes Ben Collins | Twit...

Shannon Shaffer is the founder of Purple Finch Studios, a small agency she runs in Pennsylvania, and today we’re talking about the systems and automation she put in place to make her and her team more efficient. But more than just her team benefits - her clients get a much more delightful and clear on-boarding process, communication doesn’t falter, and her projects get off to a great start. The sy...

As tools for podcasting have evolved, the question of, “Can I start a podcast” has changed to, “should I start a podcast?” And importantly, will it help you grow your business? We’re going to talk about all of that and more in today’s episode. We’ll go over why podcasting is getting easier, some of the basics, and why YOU should start one. At the end of the episode, I’m going to tell you about a n...

 Today I’m talking to my good friend Matt Medeiros. We both share a passion for podcasting and content creation in general. On top of talking about getting involved in local businesses, and legacy, we dig deep on putting content out into the world. First you learned about content strategy from Jessica Lawlor . Now you'll learn more about one of the big important mediums for creating content in 202...

If you've been freelancing or running a small business for any amount of time, you've learned a few things you probably wish you knew from the start. In this episode, I've asked a few of my freelancing friends (as well as Twitter), "What's one thing you wish you knew when you started freelancing?" There's lots of great advice, so let's get to it!  Show Notes The original Twitter Thread Jean Perpil...

 Jessica Lawlor is a content manager and strategist. Your content plan is integral to your small business, as I’ve learned over the past couple of year. I’m being a lot more intentional this year, and in this episode, Jessica talks about how you can too. We chat about content calendars, answering important questions regarding your goals, and how to create content even if you’re strapped for time....

This year, 2020, the show is going to focus heavily on Freelancers and small business owners. And to kick things off, I’m talking to long time freelancer and educator Jason Resnick. He’s the founder of the Feast community and Live in the Feast podcast, and today he’s going to tell you how to set yourself up to prevent the dreaded famine that often comes with freelance work. We’ll talk about nichin...

Lots of people like to make resolutions around the new year. Fresh calendar, fresh start. I've gotten away from doing that and instead talking about a yearly theme - an idea I got from the Cortex podcast. In this episode, we'll talk about my yearly theme, how it affects the show, and how you can pick one. Show Notes The Theme System Cortex Podcast My 2019 Yearly Theme Pat Flynn’s AMP’d Up Podcasti...

I’m ending this season of How I Built It by geeking out about audio stuff with my guest, Ryan White. He’s the US Product Specialist for Rode Microphones - a company that makes great gear, and who has an increasingly bigger presence in the podcasting space. We talk gear, room acoustics, and more. AND you can hear their newest product, the Rodecaster Pro, in action (if there’s anything to hear, that...

I was excited to reconnect with my friend Colin Devroe on this episode. We met through the WordPress community in Scranton and I just the co-working space he and his business part Kyle created. In this conversation, we get back to basics, and talk blogging. With the ever changing landscape of the web and social media, how important is it to have your own blog? Let’s find out!  Show Notes Colin Dev...

The 2019 holiday season is here! Many of you are business owners, remote workers, and freelancers - so I thought I'd put together a bonus episode based on my 2 popular gift guides. Here are some great gifts for podcasters, and people who work from home!  Show Notes Enter the 1 Million Downloads Celebration Giveaway! Great Gifts for People who work from Home (updated 2019) Gift Guide for Podcasters...