What Works

I know plenty of small business owners who struggle with how to price their products or how much to invest in advertising. I see people question whether they can hire someone to help or whether that conference is in their budget. And at the heart of all of these questions, are the nitty-gritty financial numbers behind all of our businesses. Unfortunately, we often get caught up in the sexier quest...

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Madison Wetherill found herself the owner of two small businesses—and how she knew something had to change about the way she was managing them* How Madison came to think of herself as a “busy person” and why that impacted the way she structured her time* What she noticed about the way she was spending her time and how it related to the results she was creating* The way she...

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Rita Barry chose to focus on helping clients understand the numbers when it comes to their website traffic* The mistakes small business owners make that prevent them from taking advantage of the information they have* The first step Rita takes with every new client* Why Rita maps the customer journey and how it helps her make recommendations to clients* What Rita looks for...

The Nitty-Gritty * How Jennifer Johansson started promoting her art on Pinterest * What happened when one of her pins was repinned over 50,000 times—and why it created a spike in traffic but not in sales* How she regrouped and made a decision to create a online course inspired by her viral pin* The process Jennifer used to create her online course and how her course has impacted her art business a...

When I signed off on my taxes last month, it was the first time in 10 years that I didn’t owe any money to the IRS. In fact, I got a refund. Now, I’d love to tell you that’s because I was much more diligent with my financial planning. And, that is partially true. But the main reason I’m getting a refund is that I personally made a lot less money last year. Not gonna lie: making less money was a bi...

The Nitty-Gritty: * What happened when Facebook ad strategist Claire Pelletreau returned to her business after an unexpectedly long maternity leave* Why she took a gig subcontracting from another ad strategist* How she found her confidence as a consultant, educator, and strategist again* What went wrong when she launched a product she thought would be a no-brainer* How her offers have evolved to s...

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Brittany Berger came up with the idea for the Work Brighter newsletter * How Work Brighter evolved as she continued to work her day job—and then as she struck out on her own* What her current vision for Work Brighter is and how it informs her growth strategy* Why Brittany chose to think of her company more like a software company than a content company A side business can b...

Even for successful entrepreneurs and small businesses, sometimes things don’t go to plan. The longer you’re in business, the more times you’ll deal with projects that don’t work out, offers that don’t sell, or strategies that take you down the wrong path. In many ways, staying in business over the long haul is a constant exercise in maintaining your heading—and navigating back when you inevitably...

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Racheal Cook scratched her own itch and created a 1-day event without a “grand plan”* Why the CEO Retreat helped her overcome a persistent challenge for her clients* How the event evolved to become a key part of how her business has leveled up over the last year* What Racheal did to overcome her greatest fear about hosting an in-person event “Meet me in Astoria, Oregon. No...

The Nitty-Gritty: * How a conversation at a networking event planted a seed for Abundance Practice Building founder Allison Puryear* What the first business coaching program Allison led looked like* Why she knew this opportunity was the right thing to pursue* How Abundance Practice Building has grown and evolved since that first group I’d like to introduce you to Shannon Paris. Today, Shannon is o...

The Nitty-Gritty * Why Val Geisler, email marketing specialist and founder of Fix My Churn, used a 2-hour workshop as a test run for a bigger program* How she sold the workshop to her email list and followers* What she did after the workshop to flesh out her 12-week program once she had proof of concept* How she used the success of her workshop to create the initial sales for the program Big resul...

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Bonnie Gillespie started building her content empire before she even started a business* Why a 3-ring binder was all the evidence she needed to know it was time to write her first book* How she used an automated Twitter account to build her audience and produce a new product from repurposed content* And, why Bonnie doesn’t buy into guru culture—despite being a leader thousa...

The Nitty-Gritty * Tara shares the story of how the seeds she panted at the beginning of her business journey have grown into The What Works Network * How a small action now can turn into big success for your small business down the line * Why your next big idea will probably come from the small ideas that you are planting today* And a sneak peek at the candid conversations coming up in April Well...

The Nitty-Gritty * How Janeris Marte transformed her photography business when she went from a jack of all trades to specializing in adoptive families * The simple strategy Janeris uses to connect with prospects* How she designed photography packages that perfectly align with her clients’ unique needs* Why finding her niche not only made it easier to market herself but made it more efficient to ru...

Imagine you want to get stronger. What do you do? If you’re like me, you’d head to the gym, grab some dumbbells, and start squatting, pressing, and curling as many times as you could until your legs and arms felt like they wanted to fall off. It turns out… more isn’t always more when it comes to the gym. And more isn’t always more when it comes to your business, either. Now, repping it out at the...

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Nicole Antoinette pivoted her business to focus solely on her podcast, Real Talk Radio * The question she asked herself to ensure the longevity of the podcast once she started it* Why she chose a community-funded business model through Patreon * How she structures her Patreon tiers, pricing, and rewards* What’s working to grow the number of patrons supporting the show Fill...

The Nitty-Gritty: * Tara shares why it’s important to clean things up–but not get caught up in making things perfect* Why the mess exists–and how that’s a feature, not a bug* How to use hypotheses instead of discrete goals to learn more about what works for you* How to create adaptable plans based on your particular mess and your goals Businesses get messy—old products, defunct systems, cluttered...

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why bodywork practitioner Mindy Totten decided to take her 6.5-day per week business and turn it into a 3-day per week business* How specializing on a single modality helped her earn more while working less* The internal shift Mindy needed to go through to make the 3-day work week possible* The process she used to put her clients on her schedule—instead of theirs I started my b...

The Nitty-Gritty * What makes for a vibrant and engaged online community or group* The workflows that Audra Lindsey has used to save time and streamline how she manages large communities* The importance of getting members to talk to each other* How doing less to manage a community or group can create a more valuable experience* Why Audra focuses on building a culture around sharing experience—not...

The Nitty Gritty On Streamlining Your Business Model: * Why Jereshia Hawk quit trying to build a suite of products and streamlined her business model to just one offer* The mindset challenge she had to overcome to make the decision to retire her old offers* The exact process she used to retire her offers and pivot her business* How Jereshia markets and sells her only offer to insure she has a stea...

The Nitty Gritty: * Why taking the time to tidy up your business is so important * The 3 ways Tara has cleaned up her business over the last few years* Information on The What Works Network Spring Cleaning Virtual Conference* Plus, a sneak peek of interviews coming out in March Does your business spark joy? Or are you overwhelmed by the piles of business clutter that have grown up around you over...

The Nitty-Gritty on Finding Clients on LinkedIn: * How career coach Kerri Twigg is using LinkedIn to find clients and generate more than 30 requests for services per day* The process she uses to vet new connections and establish a relationship with the people she connects with* How she creates content that immediately communicates who she is and what makes her different* How she manages a waitlist...

You might think of me as a fairly gregarious entrepreneur who delights in inviting strangers on to this very podcast for conversations about life and business. But… In many ways, I’m a walking, talking introvert meme. I’m a bit of a loner. I would much rather do things on my own than rely on others for help. Parties, conferences, and even coffee dates make me anxious and sweaty. And yet… the relat...

The Nitty-Gritty: * The moment Lauren Caselli knew her event planning business (and her life) needed a fresh approach* Why she chose “seen” as her word for 2018 and how that philosophy helped her make significant changes to the way she does business* Why taking her business seriously has allowed her to rest more, take on fewer events, and receive more support* How her mindset has changed now that...

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Shannon Siriano Greenwood decided to explore lifestyle design by bringing people together at Rebelle Con * How she is currently expanding her professional network and meeting new people to support her* The #1 mistake Shannon sees people make while networking for their small businesses* What surprised her about the way attendees network and build relationships at Rebelle eve...