Start-up Speakeasy

Why is it that every time you start to make headway in your business, you suddenly feel like you have to change everything?  How does pricing our products and services stump us every single time?  What is holding you back from hiring much needed help in your biz? These are just a few instances are insanely common ways that entrepreneurs (and especially creative types) sabotage business and your ability to make money. Can you relate?  Listen in.  Denise shares a great perspective on why this conundrum sneaks up and what you can do to put money blocks back in their place. Show Notes: http://kristyoustalet.com/53 

When you're a solopreneur or even when you have a small team, business mistakes that you make can feel devastating.  I'm sure you've beaten yourself up over what now seems to be a minor hiccup in the scheme of things… we've all been there. Matthew Turner has a new spin on making mistakes, he believes that by making mistakes you're able to uncover your best work and greatest ideas.  In fact, its not only his perspective, he interviewed 163 entrepreneurs (including me) to get their two cents on turning mistakes into success stories.   Tune into this episode to hear what he learned + the book he's currently crowd publishing on his findings… this is so interesting, y'all.

Show Notes:  http://kristyoustalet.com/51 If you’ve ever buried your nose in a few business books, you know that you’re ‘supposed’ to pinpoint your target market and narrow in on who is a perfect fit for your work. But, its WAY more common to go through the motions and really only scratch the surface while the point is to dig deep. So, if you’re like me, and vaguely consider your true target market while rushing between projects and posts- I think Sarah has some info that will make you reconsider... In this episode, we dive into the steps she took to uncover the subtle correlations between her all-time favorite clients, and how you can too. She also lays out some killer insight on her next steps which she credits as the difference between falling flat in narrowing things down and blowing it out the water. SPOILER ALERT: by taking the leap into truly serving her target market she experienced: Her projects are based around exactly what she wants to be working on, which makes her career way more fulfilling becau

Just when you think you're going to implode because your spreading yourself too thin and on the verge of a business overwhelm meltdown... in walks Maya Gaddie and suddenly things seem a bit more simple and sanity washes over your stressed out brain. Maya somehow always has the perfect solution to take you from overwhelm to business automation. Phew! In this episode, Maya dives into:- the five tech must-haves you need to get a solid biz foundation- automation hacks to get take your business to the next level- software suggestions to bring instant solutions for common biz headaches http://kristyoustalet.com/50

We all have time restraints on our business.  Maybe for you its your kids, or your 9-5, or even client one-on-one work gets in the way.  No matter what it is that trips you up, it’s important to use time wisely and not to get caught up in excuses. We all know that launching and growing a business takes a huge investment of time and energy, so here are 4 time saving tricks that I use everyday to carve out time for worthwhile projects.   Turn off notifications + eliminate distractions from others Something happened when I started getting busier… it suddenly felt like everything got really noisy and dings, chimes, unwanted emails and notifications were always interrupting what I was working on. By eliminating these nagging distractions, it enabled me to keep focus on the projects that really matter to me and my business.  To keep up with my favorite blogs, I moved most of them out of email and into Flipboard.  This is an app that lets you keep up with blogs and media by creating your own electronic newspaper.  I

Show notes found at: http://kristyoustalet.com/48   Wordpress has been known as the one and only platform to build a professional website to build your business, but Squarespace has made a ton of improvements and have positioned themselves as true competitor in the space.   Everyone has their opinion on which is best, but the real question is which is best for you and your growing business.  Let’s dive into the pros + cons in each to help you make the best decision.   Customer Support: Squarespace: is a paid platform that will answer questions and troubleshoot via email or live chat 24/7.  A Squarespace site generally costs $10/mo.   Wordpress: because the platform is free, it does not include support.  For this reason, its important to choose themes that have good support forums and some even have how-to videos.  Googling for answers can also be helpful.   Nat Note: Headway + Genesis themes have great support forums for WP. Learning Curve/Dashboard: Squarespace: has a drag and drop builder which is easier f

Show notes found at http://kristyoustalet.com/47   This week’s guest is Jackie Johnstone,  a social media specialist who helps passionate entrepreneurs connect with their clients and share their message.  But, in this episode we’re not focusing entirely on social media.  Long time listeners of the show may remember Jackie as one of my very first guests of the show and she’s here to help me celebrate the show anniversary.   Yep, a full year.  Woohoo + Holy crap!   I can’t believe I made it this far… I’ve gotten to pick the brains of so many amazingly ambitious business owners.  How lucky am I?   Honestly, before launching the show, I was jumping around from idea to idea without committing to a game plan.  I flaked on my own business all the time because my next idea always seemed better than the one before.     It was time for a change.   I double doggie dared myself to stick with the show every week for a solid year, and here we are celebrating its first birthday.  Thanks so much for sharing it with me.   Ch

Show notes found at http://kristyoustalet.com/46   Years ago, our guest, Shenee Howard felt frustrated on where her business was and lost about what direction she should take her business.   Today, Shenee is sharing with us the one thing she did to turn the ship around to create killer copy + Hell Yes! offers. In this episode, Shenee will tell us about the 100 people project, why she did it and how you can do it too.   Let’s start here: There’s no substitute for talking to real people. What does that mean?   With all of the Ideal Client Avatar hype, you run into a little problem… they’re not real + its all about the subtleties that you can only pick up on when your actually talking to a potential client. So, Shenee challenged herself to talk to 100 people to turn her frustrating business around and get back on track she appropriately called it the: 100 People Project.   What’s the point of spending all that time talking to people… for free?   It gives you a chance to stop and get clarity on what you want to d

Show notes can be found at http://kristyoustalet.com/45/   Kimra Luna is a Business Coach who practices what she preaches especially when it comes to Social Media Branding.  In this episode, we’re talking about breaking traditional business rules, being yourself and being your own brand.   In today’s boom of solopreneurship and online micro-businesses, our mindset around business has shifted quite a bit.  The focus now revolves around defining who you want to work with and why, but don’t forget it’s necessary to create a business model and solve a problem.   Every business, no matter what business model you choose, is designed to help other people.   When you think of it that way, it’s always good to resort to the answers to these 3 questions:   1. Who we want to help… who do you genuinely care about and want to work with? 2. Why we want to help them? 3. Why we want to build a business in the first place?   With all of the focus on lifestyle design, its uber necessary to keep these tried and true business po

  Links found at http://kristyoustalet.com/44   Suzi Istvan (aka: Social Suzi) works new and small business owners craft their brand identity and get their website up and going.   In this episode, we talk about what you should spend time on in the beginning and what to wait on until you gain a little traction in your business.   As soon as you can, ask for help.  When you start investing in your biz and stop DIYing things It helps you to feel more pro, act more pro, and expect more professionalism from your clients. Suzi’s Start-Up Website Suggestions:   1. What exactly are you selling and who are you selling it to?   Make this the focus of your website.  If you’re just starting out, don’t feel like it needs to be perfect.  Think:  What causes results for your clients?     2. Include clear calls to action (CTA) A rookie mistake is to worry about design and clever wording over clear CTA’s and instructions about where you want them to go and where you want them to click.   The key here is to give people rea

Http://kristyoustalet.com/43   Today’s guest is Farideh who is a musician turned launch strategist launch products and services to entrepreneurs.   First things first, Farideh believes that the only way to find your voice and infuse your personality into your brand is to dive in and start.  Think about it this way, its a lot easier to test out a few ideas while your audience is really small, that way you’re not really risking anything and feeling the backlash.   If you hear that advice and it makes you feel completely exposed, you are not alone in having weird resistance around putting words, thoughts and opinions out into the world.  Here’s the thing, just by putting your work out there helps to overcome the vulnerability that comes along with putting yourself out there.    

Show notes found at: http://kristyoustalet.com/42   Rebecca Tracey helps solopreneurs get clear on what their business actually IS… meaning when you get stuck spinning, she swoops in and helps you get clear on the foundational bits to actually define what you’re doing and to (finally) get moving forward.   In today’s episode, we’re diving into how to get clear on your core message, what is a core message and why you need it in the first place. Your messaging (should) show up in everything you do.  It becomes the common ground between you and potential clients and it describes others what you care about.     How about that for attracting ideal clients? So, what is messaging?  It’s all about the bigger picture of your business and the bigger purpose of why are you doing it + why should anyone care.   ...It’s the piece that really helps you stand out and be a little bit different + everything you do should relate to your core message.   No pressure, right?   Becca’s Tip:  Don’t obsess with coming up with a mes

The Start-Up Speakeasy Episode #038Show notes: http://kristyoustalet.com/38Guest: Kendrick Shope   Kendrick Shope has blended years of selling experience in a corporate environment with modern marketing to create an online course named Authentic Selling.  Today, she shares some amazing advice on how we can sell our offerings and ourselves without being pushy or sleazy. Online Biz Myth: as long as you have an online offer, people will buy it. Kendrick believes that in order to sell your offer to ideal clients, its important to focus on three things: 1. Tell people why you’re here2. Let the know why they should trust you3. They’re time is super valuable + why they should part with it for you (even for a freebie offer) #1 reason why people don’t buy is: lack of ENGAGEMENT The best way to overcome the engagement barrier is to have individual conversations with your (potential) audience and talk to as many people for free as you can.   This not only helps you understand your clients better than anything else, but

Start-Up Speakeasy Episode #037Guest: Maya Gaddie   Today we’re talking with Maya Gaddie who titles herself a Digital Mentor and Tech match maker. She tell us all about her biz in the beginning of this episode, but this interview isn’t about tech at all really… After having her own small business for a little over three years, Maya has transitioned her business through various phases of growth. In this episode, Maya is being completely transparent and taking us behind the scenes of some key points in her business that has shaped what it looks like today. We dive into how she grew it to be a great balance between what her ideal clients wanted, how she wanted to interact with them and what she wants her business + lifestyle to look like. Maya provides insight gems sprinkled throughout no matter what stage of business you’re in now. Some of the key points where Maya tweaked and shaped her current business model was: She noticed a disconnect with her biz and the businesses of her customers She felt over worked a

Start-Up Speakeasy Episode #36http://kristyoustalet.com/36   I've been talking, brainstorming and strategizing with a lot of the Speakeasy audience lately, especially with the launch of my three month mentorship program.   After a bunch of one-on-one conversations with idea-driven and aspiring entrepreneurs, I was shocked at one thing that didn't come up in a single conversation. In fact, it's something I never thought about in the very early stages of my business and once it hit me- it changed my approach to my business and career forever. We'll get to what that one tweak is in a minute, but first, let's dive into the three main ways that entrepreneurs jumpstart business ideas: 1. They stumbled across a problem that they had trouble solving.  Once they got passed it, they realized that they can help others also overcome this situation. 2. They take a talent or special skill they have and turn it into a business. For instance, as a freelancer or service provider such as a graphic designer. 3. They see a uniqu

Victoria Prozan’s superpower is to help entrepreneurs craft names and taglines to bring the full power of their voice out in their brand. I mean, who hasn’t spent weeks (months?) caught up in the quest for the ‘perfect’ tagline? She also believes that these names and taglines only scratch the surface of what it takes to fully communicate your brand. In this episode, we’re talking visual communication as a whole… Victoria combines her experience in design, visual communication and storytelling to build a solid foundation to craft your businesses message.     How to avoid the: Accidental Copy-Cat Syndrome Be Observant. When you like something that a leader in your brand has created, take a minute to dissect what you’re seeing and specifically what you find interesting. For example, maybe you are drawn to the bright colors, movement in the images or even the layout. Rather than copying that exact design, how can you be inspired by something + reinvent what you like about it in a fun way?    Two tips to find your

Vicky Lyashenko from SmallBusinessGal.com shares with us a few really great tips for getting traction and promoting a local small business.