Today, we are addressing something that we get asked about on the regular. We are answering the question about dealing with business overwhelm, especially for those of you who are just starting out, trying to figure out what to focus on first. We are giving you the foundation and showing you where we think you should put your focus first and why, so perhaps you won’t be so overwhelmed. Now, this does not mean we are going to give you a copy-paste, one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, we will give you the building blocks to figure out exactly what you need for your unique situation to build your own successful business.

We know how easy it is to fall into those holes of massive overwhelm when you are wanting to add more and grow your business. So if that is you, then listen up! And honestly, it does not matter if you are just starting a business or if you have started one already. The information shared in this episode will truly help you lay those solid business foundations and push through the overwhelm regardless of where you are in your journey.

Today on the podcast, we have Parker Stevenson of Evolved finance. We are like super pumped for you to hear from him because he’s actually one of our few male team members. Parker and his business partner, Corey, not only do the books for other online entrepreneurs, but they also coach businesses along the way. We were super excited to start working together in the new year — we had lots of things going on at the time, so it was the perfect moment to get them on board.

In this episode, you are going to learn a lot! Parker shares his opinion on small businesses DIY’ing their books, if you should do that, how you should do that, and what in the French toast “your books” even means. We go over trends that he has seen in the online business entrepreneurial world, his best tips for getting your finances organized, and he even goes through and talks to us about what the heck a profit and loss statement is and how that might be the next best thing since sliced bread when it comes to your business. We know you guys are going to love this episode, so we can’t wait for you to give this one a listen.

In today’s episode, we’re probably going to get a little personal and a little emotional, but we think it’s important that we tell you a little bit about what happened earlier this year and how we have been able to manage all the changes. In the beginning of 2017, Emylee adopted a baby, which completely changed her whole world.  Things were going so well as a new mom, but suddenly she totally hit a wall with work. It wasn’t like she did not want to work anymore or did not want to be a mom; she just struggled to figure out a balanced way to do both at the same time.

Around the same time, Abby was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. So it is safe to say we had a bit of a rocky start to 2017 and we spent a good chunk of the beginning of the year mourning and grieving our former selves. So in today’s episode, we are jumping into all the details on what happened, how we handled the changing situations, and exactly how we got out on the other side.

We are super excited to bring you our friend, Christy Laurence, who is the founder of Plann, a visual planner and scheduler app for Instagram. Plann is designed to help you create a follow worthy feed in advance as a great strategy for Instagram growth. A bunch of you probably already use this app and know and love it, so we are really excited today for her to share some of the ins and outs of her business.

Inside this episode, we are talking about what it is like to build an app, what did it cost, what are the startup expectations of working with a developer, and what kind of person it takes to actually do it. Christy also shares what you need to know before hiring someone, and where you should be putting your app — iOS, android, or both? We dive into how to get traction, how to create a marketing strategy, and the whole nine yards. Plus, we even get a little behind-the-scenes story of why Christy started Plann in the first place. You’re going to learn a lot inside this episode, so get excited to dive right in.

We are going to mix it up a little bit today on the podcast, by doing a Q&A session with yours truly. For this Q&A, it will be kind of like you are here because we are going to say some of your names, answer your questions, and give you our best tips and advice. Now, these questions do not necessarily make sense together, and they are in no particular order. We are simply taking them as they come, and knocking them out of the park for you guys.

Some of the questions were submitted on Instagram, some of them are common questions we see over in the Facebook group, and some of them are just because we decided to throw them in because either someone has asked them at some point or because we just thought y’all needed all the answer to them. To add to that, maybe we will just make up some questions as we go along just to keep it super spicy. Tune in to find out. There is no rhyme or reason to today’s episode, so let’s just have fun with it!

We are so excited today to have Johnny and Joanna on from Letterfolk Co on the show. They are amazing givers of knowledge and awesome business owners who make adorable felt and wood letter boards that you can put little quotes on and uniquely capture monthly milestones with. Bonus: they’re handmade in the United States! We reached out to them on a whim because they have such a beautiful Instagram and such an amazing business that we wanted to pick their brains, especially for you guys because they actually sell physical products. Not surprisingly, they have a ton of amazing nuggets of wisdom to share with you guys.

Over the last year and a half, Johnny and Joanna’s business has grown like gangbusters and in this episode we dive into the specifics about when they invested in branding, when they do stock versus custom packaging, what platforms they use, what software they’ve invested in, how they hired their first employee, and more. Plus, we get into all the decisions that went into the making of the company, specifically the mindset piece, which is probably the most important part! They are both so kind, so smart, and you are going to learn so much in this episode.

Today we are going to tell you all about how to get your readers. We’re talking about how to get people just surfing the internet, surfing the airwaves, surfing Google; people who are just hanging out online, to find you, and how you can turn them into loyal customers. The “free, free, free, marry me” sales model walks people through awareness, consideration, preference, and purchase, to being super loyal, to then shouting your name from the rooftops. We are going to walk you through all of those steps today and give you some tips and tricks on how you can implement them in your own business.

Basically, our model is the same as the try before you buy model, or the test drive the car model. That’s what this does for your audience and for your people — it establishes you as an expert and as someone to keep coming back to for that thing. No matter what it is, you don’t necessarily have to be teaching for them to come back for your thing. It could be your humor, it could be the stories that you share on Instagram, it could be your beautiful images or the way you talk to people when you talk about your business or your life or your products. It could be the charities that your business supports. Whatever it is, that thing that they come back for is what’s reeling them in time and time again.

Guys, you better get ready and put your thinking caps on because today we are hanging out with our good friend Meg Clarke from Clapping Dog Media. She is an SEO expert who works with creative entrepreneurs to help them get their businesses found by Google. We know sometimes SEO can be a bit confusing and make you want to run for your life. But don’t let it scare you, and don’t let it intimidate you, because Meg is breaking everything down super simply today and she is going to give you some awesome tips on how to move forward.

In today’s episode we are talking about what the heck SEO even is, how you can do it yourself, and diving into some of Meg’s favorite links to get reporting tools and data back on your own website to see your ranking. Then, we talk through when it makes sense to hire an SEO expert, the kind of SEO expert you should be looking for, and when you should run for the hills. So stay tuned, bust out your notebooks, and get ready for an epic show.

Today, we are super excited to talk about some stuff that might surprise you guys. We are telling you all the reasons why we say no to “opportunities”. Most opportunities, honestly. Plus, we get into the thought process behind our no’s and how you can begin to ask yourself different questions when you get thrown various opportunities in your own business. We’re chatting about how to figure out whether an opportunity is the right fit for you or not, if it’s going to pay off, and whether or not it is going to be beneficial for both parties and all of that fun stuff.

Now, the things we are saying no to may be either big or small — we don’t agree to anything that might not be right for our audience and our business. But perhaps you are on the other side of this fence, and you are using other businesses, companies, or brands to promote your own product. We are going to give you some tips on how you can make your process even better by sharing the types of pitches we’ve loved and said yes to. So you are going to get some inside scoop today and we are pretty pumped about it, and if you want us to say “yes”, then you should definitely listen to this episode!

Today on the podcast, we have Terry Dean of Mymarketingcoach.com. Terry considers himself one of the grandfathers of internet marketing, and he even referred to himself as a dinosaur! But one thing is for sure, this guy knows his stuff! Terry started out as a pizza delivery driver for Little Caesar’s making $8 an hour and transitioned into online marketing in 1996. This guy generated over $96,000 from one email in front of a live studio audience. Talk about crazy!

In today’s episode Terry shares some great tips on how to get emails opened more frequently, how to sell to your email list even if it is teeny tiny, and how to get people on your list quickly. He has some really cool tricks for turning those subscribers into buyers within 24 hours and two really awesome formulas to help you grow your sales pages, your landing pages, and even the format of your emails. Terry also goes over what he calls “the superhero method”. For all you nerds out there, you are really going to get a kick out of this one. We can’t wait for you to dive into this episode, so get comfy and let’s get started.

We are pretty super pumped because we have Jessica Eley on the show today! Jessica is the resident emotion bringer upper of all things regarding icky feelings, money, success, and thinking we’re not good enough. She shows exactly how they affect the growth of our business, our mindset, our relationships with our families and all of that good stuff.

We are diving into some pretty deep shit today and in fact, Emylee got the opportunity to chat with Jessica a few weeks ago to chat about a plateau that she felt like we had hit in our business and Jessica helped her see that she was bringing up some money block issues. So go sit on the couch and get a glass of wine, because this episode is going to be as close to business therapy as possible!

Today, we are going to talk about some dream weeks, some not so not so dream weeks, and how we have transitioned in our business. We chat about our journey, and how our lives and work days evolve as our business grows and changes and as our lives grow and change. We also discuss the kind of questions we begin to ask ourselves when we want to strive towards a different or better ideal week. We go over how to start working through some of these challenges yourself.

In this episode we are going to walk you through the process of what it looked like when we were scaling a multiple six figure business, and how we kind of hit a brick wall at the beginning of 2017 and had to learn a whole new world of how to run a business through health struggles and being a new mom. We dive into how managing life and business was completely different and why always keeping in mind what we wanted along the way was super important to us. Instead of letting the world just slip away from us, we kept our hopes and dreams actively in front of us and that’s what we want for you as well.

Guys, we are super excited to have on our friend, Josey Stafford from Sixpence Events on the show today. She is a wedding planner and we know there are a lot of you in the wedding industry listening in today. We know nothing about the industry other than the fact that we both have gotten married. So, we are super excited to have someone on who actually knows what she’s talking about with regards to service based industries and wedding industries, and we are kind of getting into some meat and potatoes on all things referrals.

On today’s episode you are going to learn how to ask for a referral without sounding super creepy, and you are going to figure out the best and most organic ways to get clients and vendors to refer you. We are jumping into incentives, giveaways, and prizes and whether or not they work. If you are brand new to the business, we get into exactly how you go about finding these people, and the right and the wrong ways to network. We also talk about how things work for you in your business and even if you are not in the wedding industry, I want you to stay tuned because all of this has super specific takeaways that are applicable to every single one of you.

Today, we are getting a little nerdy with you guys. We are geeking out on some numbers and giving you the same slap on the face we got when it came to conversions of our peeps and making money. If all of this numbers stuff kind of freaks you out and makes you want break out in hives and throw your phone out the window, it’s okay. Take a deep breath. We are not going to turn you into a mathematician over the course of the next 45 minutes, and that’s fine. But if you feel like you need some help with that, we’ve got you covered. So don’t you stress about it.

We are going to be talking about the icky feelings we get about money, about disappointment in sales numbers, and about what that really means, especially for businesses like ours. We also dive into a bit of background on how we transitioned rather quickly from a client based business to a course based business in a matter of months. What that did along the way was teach us a lot of things about what we didn’t know about conversion rates and how many people you actually need on your list in order to make money. So if you find yourself in that same La La Land right now, put your socks on and get into this episode!