Who is running your business?

Can you say that YOU are?

Something I discovered this year is how many of my big business and life decisions are directly influenced by a few not so great forces.

The biggie is guilt.

Yup - Guilt has been my CFO on many occasion.

He’s allowed me to stay in jobs too long, in relationships too long, in friendships too long...and spending my energy on the wrong projects in my own business too...

And let’s get real - guilt is not a separate entity. It’s me.

I’ve been the one to allow the guilt to drive some of my biggest business delays and changes. And specifically I’ve:

• stayed on people’s email lists because I felt guilty leaving and having them see me leave

• said yes to projects that put my health and mental well-being in serious danger

• said yes to jobs with destructive bosses (and even got hives in the process!)

• avoided letting an employee go because I felt bad

• didn’t do a number of promotions for my business because I felt guilty making the offer

Now, many of these are ancient history - they did NOT all happen this year, last year or even in the past 5 years...but they’ve left marks on me none the less.  

And only now am I staging the takeover of my own business.

If you’ve ever felt a little off after making a decision to work with someone or offer something, then there is something that’s driving the boat…and it might just be guilt.

Let’s dive in.

Do a search for creating useful content on google.

There’s enough opinion and education on the topic to make your head…

wait for it…

Explode.

And that’s pretty much what my head’s been doing since I first heard this phrase.

Create useful content, Anne.

Waking me up in the middle of night.

Are you being USEFUL enough, Anne?

And off and on this whole year I’d look at other people’s content and wonder…

How the heck is THIS useful to the world?

I started pulling apart every blog post I’d see, challenging it to be useful to me, which is hilarious because as you know there’s a lot of useless but fun info on the internet.

And that’s when it hit me...about being useful...and why I wanted to dig in and discuss this moving target of being useful…

In this week’s episode, I explore:

• What does being useful really mean in the context of your online business?

• Who decides if something is useful or trashable?

• Why is creating useful content a challenge to most online entrepreneurs?

• And...what do you need to know about your audience in order to get even close to figuring out what is useful for them on any given day?

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re being useful or not, listen to today’s episode of the Fearless Launching show and then leave me a comment below.

Ok let’s dive in!

Links To Dive Deeper Into This Topic

Launch Toolkit

Creating Social Substance (great article at the top of google's list!)

Ep. 30 - Planning For Success (planning is all about knowing what your people want and need)

Ep. 10 - How To Become A Better Teacher with Jennifer Louden (love Jen’s take on teaching, especially since that’s what all content really does - it teaches!)

Does your business feel good?

Do you enjoy most days doing what you do?

And how’s that launch making you feel?

Be honest.

Okay, I’ll go first.

Sometimes the answer is no. Not good at all.

But does that mean I’m doing something wrong?

Not necessarily.

Today, I’m going to share some truths about running a business, growing it online, and what you need to be prepared for when you’re launching...

There's a little good, a little not so good...but all real things you might (and probably will) experience if you're on this journey too!

My hope is that by hearing what your day to day life can be sometimes, you’ll be prepared for those not so great moments...

In this episode I talk about:

•The one thing that’s going to make it easier to handle the day job if you're building a business on the side.

•some of the most common "problems" and challenges you might face even if you're only working on your biz a few hours a week

•what you'll discover about yourself - and you might not like what you see!

•what to do when you get the "maybe I should get a job" blues

•how to avoid the slippery slow of envy and competition watching

•surprise wins that you better acknowledge when they happen

•amazing shift that happens when you realize you have nothing left to prove to anyone

•How do you handle all the ups and downs?

•What launches reveal about your business

Mentioned In This Episode:

FLS 001 : Feeling Trapped? How to become an entrepreneur while you’re working for someone else without losing your mind
FLS 029: Why Watching People Grow Is My Personal Business Bonus (and Guilty Pleasure)
Leadpages
Cupcake Royale
Start up Seattle
Tony Robbins
Nathalie Lussier

What You Should Do Right Now

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now – both require you to take one more action. If you'd be so kind and have a moment, I would so appreciate you even doing 1 of these...especially if you love the show and want to get featured on a future episode!

First thing – Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and help other people find it too!

Second thing – click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

[Tweet "You bring value. You DO have something to share. People WILL show up. #rememberthis @annesamoilov"]

It’s the end of the year and you may be making big plans for the new one.

And while I’m a huge fan of planning big things, pushing yourself to reach goals, launching the ideas that you’ve been sitting on for too long...I’m also curious…

And I like to be a detective in my business...especially when I’m planning.

I like to ask - What worked last year? And if it worked...can I do it again?

Today’s episode we dive into that topic and more. 

So - if you’re about to create your own marketing calendar for the new year, this one’s perfect for you.

Why is watching people grow my biggest bonus from running my own business?

For me ...watching people grow means I'm doing my job.

...And benefiting in some way from what I'm trying to teach or inspire.

You getting to witness this change, a spark, inspired action, and someone finally doing something they’ve been putting off.

So, I’m breaking with my usual interview or masterclass style to give you this heartfelt love note to some of the people that remind me every single day why I do what I do.

Visit: http://www.annesamoilov.com/watching-people-grow for the complete show notes.

We usually chat with people after their first launch - so we can get that story of what happened, how they felt, what they changed up going forward… but this time, I there was no need to time travel or dig into the archives.

Kristoffer Carter has been working like a madman behind the scenes of some of the most important creators online. I got to know him last year when we joined forces to support our dear friend Jonathan Fields launch Revolution U and then again as faculty members in Jonathan’s intense, life changing GLP Immersion program. 

But today - it’s all about Krissy.  Here’s just a peek at what we get into on this episode:

• Who is responsible for me meeting Kristoffer Carter?

• What he realized about launching from releasing his manifesto The Framework?

• How his day job responded to the launch of his manifesto...

• What personal practices help him prepare for launches (his own and other people’s)?

• What the heck is he unleashing to the world THIS week?


We also dive into many topics that show how he lives his life from top to bottom - with a mission to be completely integrated, always practice radical introspection, and to make it his duty to have fun and rally people to have the best experience EVER.

Visit the show notes page to get all the resources and peeps we mentioned during the show over at: http://www.annesamoilov.com/show

What makes a brand a brand? 

Is it the pretty colors? The fancy font? The pictures? The words?

Our guest today shares some tips on creating and evolving your brand that don’t require you to change the look of things and she believes that a company’s branding happens in the brain first as an experience not just by the oohs and aahs we might utter when we see a new font.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Pamela got her start (and it wasn’t online)

• Some reassuring tips from Pamela’s first launch

• Her simple approach to finding the right blogs to guest post and 2 big sites where she nabbed recurring writing roles

• The only type of launch Pamela likes to do...and she does it every single time she launches

• Pace Smith’s Tier System for launching

• How to figure out your brand message and why it’s so important for your next launch

• The one thing that you gotta know before you pick colors, fonts or any other type of visual styles on your website.

Connect with Pamela Wilson:

Big Brand Marketing

Posts on Copyblogger

Posts on Constant Contact

Pamela on Twitter

Pamela on Facebook

Mentioned on the show:

Pace Smith

Kelly Kingman

Ebook Evolution (aff)

Copyblogger

Constant Contact

Open office

Ever noticed how other people are running their businesses and wonder - how can I take a note from them and improve my business too?

Now I don’t mean you look at them and wonder - how I can BE like them. Or - why am I not as good as them? Or why can't MYYY business be THAT successful?

No, not envy.

I mean - really looking at the things they do every single day, every week, over and over again...and thinking hmmm maybe if I did those things I could improve my business too?

Over the last few weeks I’ve shared some business owners who taught me something about the way I want to run my own life (and business).

We looked at Amy Porterfield who shows by example how to be practical, take action, and keep things very simple and straightforward.

We featured Corbett Barr who believes in being useful and running a business with integrity at all times.

Then - last week we listened to Erika Lyremark who showed me the power of confidence and self-acceptance.

This week - we’ve got one more interview to point you to and that person has a little of all the first three in her. She’s been on the show before, but this interview was recorded back when she was taking the leap into the unknown and changing her business.

She leads by example always saying you can have the business you want - you get to choose. It’s your business, right?

I’m talking about Laura Roeder.

Check this final #TBT interview out where Laura talks about changing her business model when she first created a program back in July 2012.

Is there something in your business you want to change, but aren’t really sure if you should?

Listen to Laura and how she made her decision to change her own business.

In fact, check the show notes below and check out our interview from July 2014 where she talks about yet another venture she’s jumped into and succeeded. 

Get To Know Laura

LKR Social Media blog

LKR's on Twitter

LKR Social Mediai on Facebook

Show Notes

Meet Edgar (Laura's latest big business addition)

Ever wished you could find someone to help you whip your business into shape?

You know - someone who’d be honest and would call you on it when you were being completely off your rocker or kick you into motion if you were letting things slide?

Yeah, me too...which is precisely when I discovered and first worked with our featured business influencer.

Today’s episode features my #TBT interview with Erika Lyremark.  Erika has so much to teach women business owners about the power of confidence and the impact it can have on your business.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Her dynamic and varied work experiences prepared her for starting her own business and have continued to be a big part of her business growth.

• Some juicy details about her very first launch -- including pricing, her fears and getting support

• Why Erika thinks it’s more important to gain confidence than to make money.

• What Erika learned about hiring before you’re ready - and how that’s not always a good idea

• Erika also shares how she likes to be an elegant hustler...and what that means!

Keep in mind that Erika’s business has evolved even more now - and if you’re curious how, I highly recommend checking her out...and being part of the next round of her signature program….which is so much more than the Morning Whip.

Connect with Erika

Erika’s website

Erika on Twitter

Erika on Facebook

Lyremark Business Design

Mentioned on the show

Dyana Valentine

What You Should Do Right Now

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action.  

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

Today I answer the question - who has been your biggest business influence and why?

There’s more than one answer to this question, so I decided to do a multi-part series featuring the people and also doing a bit of a throw back Thursday. These are interviews from the archives.

They are super relevant to anyone just starting out...because the common thread is...we all start somewhere.

The first person I’m featuring is Amy Porterfield. Amy and I met back in 2009 or 2010...I kind of can’t remember…we hit it off immediately on a personal level, but even though I’ve gotten to know her pretty well, I also watch how she grows her business. I’m so inspired by the way she is so direct and clear in everything she does. It’s easy to get kind of wishy washy when you’re starting your business...and Amy has always been that person who inspires me to be clear about what I do, who I do it for, and what drives me to keep doing it.  

Maybe it’s her family values, maybe it’s the way she gives it all during her courses…or maybe it’s because she’s so supportive of me… or all of that. But Amy has influenced me by reminding me to be practical and realistic.

Here are the topics we cover:

• The truth about getting to 1,000 subscribers

• Big lessons you’ll learn from making launch mistakes

• How to find the right team for your budget

• The importance of keeping momentum after a launch

Show Notes (People we and stuff we mentioned)

Tony Robbins

Harley Davidson

Traffic Geyser

Lewis Howes + Sean Malarkey

FB Influence

FB Marketing All-in-One for Dummies

What You Should Do Right Now

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action.  

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

This week - I’m doing things a little different and since I did a pretty meaty webinar a few weeks ago, I thought I’d edit it up for you and serve the best parts as a podcast.

 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

 

    The one area where you’re wasting the most time and that could be the cause of all your launch problems

    Why knowing how to set your launch goals, sets you up for bigger success

    The key phases in your launch and the exact action steps you can take today to make each one feel easy peasy.

 

No matter when you’re planning to launch - next month or next year, you’ll be able to take action during and after you listen to this episode.

 

If you want to hear and watch the whole webinar replay, you can jump over here right now and still grab it...I decided to leave it up for you, even though Fearless Launching closes this Friday, October 10th. Click the link below to watch it.
Show Notes (Stuff I mentioned)

Launch Essentials Workshop - webinar replay

B-School

LKR Social Media

Jonathan Fields

Leadpages (aff)

Infusionsoft (aff)

Fearless Launching

Jessica Kupferman’s workflow episode

She Podcasts (awesome podcast)

John Lee Dumas (Entrepreneur On Fire)

 

*Did I miss anything? I do that sometimes, so let me know and I’ll update the notes for you!

 
What You Should Do Right Now

 

You’ve got 2 things you can do right now - both require you take action. 

 

First thing - Jump over to itunes to rate and review the Fearless Launching show and and help other people find it too!

 

Second thing - click here to listen to more episodes over on the show page.

Sometimes we set out to do a new project in our business and reality sets in to what it really takes to make it happen.

Check out today’s Fearless Launching Show where I share:

• My initial plan for the podcast

• What I didn’t really plan for before launching

• How I’m changing the show moving forward

• The exact tweaks I’ll be making

• And how you can hold me accountable

Spoiler alert: Weekly shows officially start TODAY and a renewed commitment to quality...

A few weeks ago - I got this email from Racheal Cook, friend, past client, and amazing entrepreneur.

Here’s what Racheal said:

Just wanted to reach out to let you know the results of the Fired Up + Focused Challenge that you helped me map out early this year. Basically... it's been the most awesome thing ever!

Since launching the challenge -

• Email list has DOUBLED {all organically with only a few emails to my own list to kick it off and NO Facebook ads}

• Converted 4.5% Challengers into PAID CLIENTS {previous launch strategy of 3-part video series converted less than 1.5%}

• January 2014 was the best month EVER - over $75K! - between sold out CBD + mentorship clients

By the time I close out 2014, this challenge alone will have 3x my biz over last year.

I knew I had to bring Racheal back because I’ve worked with her a few different times for different reasons...once after becoming a new mom and then awhile later when she was ready to shake things up.

Here’s what we talked about today:

• Racheal shares her previous launch strategy - and why she decided to change it

• How long it took her to realize she wanted to improve sales and conversion

• How we worked together and came up with the idea of the Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• The shift she made and the exact results it has brought to her business and launches

• What you need to know about testing, playing around, and changing things up in your business

Plus - she sums it all up to the biggest reason she’s had so much success this year (and it’s something you can start doing way before you launch)

Since I’ve spent the last few weeks talking about launches, how to launch alone, why launches aren’t working… I decided to switch things up and feature one of the stand out students in Fearless Launching. She is such a great example of what it takes to build an empire one launch at a time.

Theresa Reed is also known to many as The Tarot Lady…I just know her as a seriously bad ass entrepreneur…And to me this is a huge eye opener.  You wouldn’t think that someone who reads tarot cards for a living is such a shrewd business woman.

But she is.

Theresa joined Fearless Launching back in the early days and to be totally honest, I had no idea what I could possibly teach her.

Theresa is what I call a serial launcher, but she launches in a smart well thought out way.

She’s launched everything from live events to ecourses to group training...and earlier this year I was on her business focused monthly radio show Talking Shop which she does with Bri Saussy….and she provides a much needed service to other tarot professionals and other spiritually minded and aligned entrepreneurs.

In this packed 30 minutes you’ll learn:

• What Theresa does at the core of her business and how that’s shifted over the past few years.

• How she launched her first training courses after running a successful Tarot business for years.

• The moment she knew she was ready to launch.

• Her exact preparation strategy for every launch. (Secret sauce alert!)

• The one she learned from Fearless Launching that never occurred to her to do but makes so much sense!

• Theresa reveals her favorite favorite thing to launch and share and teach...

• She talks about how she determines launch dates… the key is ease and avoiding mercury in retrograde.

And as a special treat…(you gotta stick around till the end) Theresa reveals some months coming up that are super hot months and good for most anyone to launch.

Leave comments for Theresa over on the blog - she just might be able to give you the date you should launch your next product!

Is your business growing or failing? How do you tell?

Where do you go for answers?

 I’ll tell you where - > here! This episode features Google Analytics and SEO expert Liz Lockard.  

 I met Liz way back in 2012 during one of the first rounds of Fearless Launching. 

 I was eager to get her on the show because I’ve been able to see her grow from a consulting business only to scaling her business with group training programs...literally from idea to launch and then beyond.  

 She’s been seen all over the web (and around Philly where she’s from) -- at LKR Social Media, Rise To The Top, Social Media Examiner and more… prepare yourself from some giggles...but in between we manage to cover a bunch of more serious and useful topics.

 This episode is jam packed.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

•Tricking yourself to launch (and to do many other things)

•Why a little pig makes me so happy

•How Liz got the knack for numbers and data, and all that stuff that makes    most people sick to their stomach

•What Liz thinks about trying to keep your SEO tuned exactly to Google algorith

•How to look at your data and know that your business is growing or at least on track

•What’s more wayyyy more important than watching page views

•On site and off site methods of “doing SEO” for your business website

•The #1 mistake that new business owners are doing when they try to SEO their website

 We do a lot of giggling for a chat about analytics and data...so don’t be surprised, but I can assure you that we dig in deeper on strategies and tips to get you started with both analytics and SEO.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• What or Who is Edgar?

• How is Edgar different from other similar software like him?

• The first thing Laura did once you decided she decided to create it

• How did Laura come up with the idea?

• What Laura learned about the process of developing software and how it differs from creating online programs?

Plus we talk about what seems to be the growing trend of online entrepreneurs who are developing software, apps, and other non info-product-y products.

Today’s episode features Erin Stutland.  I worked with Erin on her first launch of the Shrink Session workout and since then the program has grown like crazyyyyy.  

I pulled Erin into the launch lair to talk about her recent amazingness launch for Shrink Session and the free challenge that blew the roof off the launch...but what we ended up talking about was how Erin’s launched other programs, changed her business over time.

We talk fear, fun, and crushing it.  Enjoy and make sure to leave her a comment below!

Visit annesamoilov.com/show for more details.

Today’s episode features Hilary Rushford - style blogger, stylist, and now entrepreneurial guide + strategist...and author!

This lovely has so much energy and insight to give, even seasoned business owners have something to learn here.

What I think I like most about Hilary is her story and how real it is--the journey of discovering the corporate life was not for her and how she went on a mega self-learning business school pilgrimage to figure it all out.  She's driven, smart, and really funny too!

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to and how to NOT launch a book
• How far in advance did Hilary started prepping for the launch
• The exact launch team that evolved during the launch + who she wishes she would’ve hired first
• Why she chose to do an interview series + a blog tour as her prelaunch content
• What she’d do differently if she could do it again
• The types of products she sells + how she manages to serve two often different audiences
• And...we crack the case and share our favorite brands (clothes, people) and why

Today’s show features entrepreneur Jessica Kupferman, podcast, mom, funny lady…and word of warning - we always have a ton of fun together, interrupt each other and generally like to make a joke if things get too serious.

She's obsessed with podcasting and sharing why your business needs a podcast... and specifically why more women need to do podcasts!

Here’s what goes down:

• Jessica shares how she produces two shows per week (maybe more by the time this goes live!).
• An impromptu brainstorm how to make the content workflow easier.
• I also share my results with the podcast + she gives me a few tips.
• How to be an introvert and still manage to talk to people all day long.
• Find out what’s changed in her business over a full year of podcasting.
• Why podcasting is so cool for building an audience of people you don’t know already!
• Why we need more women podcasters!!

And you’ll hear Jessica go off on delegating, being interviewed, and helping me create the officially first NON-CLEAN interview, so grab your headphones for this one.

Listen in to this episode where I share:

• how long in advance of a launch to run Facebook ads

• what type of Facebook ad worked best for me

• how long it took to see any results

• what I didn’t know that I will do different next time

• the exact leads brought in by 2 types of ads

...and I’ll also share my upcoming ads testing!

Also - visit the blog for more details on the tests and some screenshots of the actual ads I used: http://www.annesamoilov.com/real-facebook-ads-results/

Today's episode features Hillary Rubin, a Spiritual Life and Business Coach, creator of the coach training program The Art of Becoming A Coach, training program where she coaches coaches to create their unique style of coaching and birth a practice they love.

Hillary's been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Yoga Journal and The Daily Worth.com. She was named one of the top 25 Women Entrepreneurs to Love in 2012 and one of the top 50 Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter in 2013 by SheOwnsIt.com....

But let's get to the good stuff.

So, today’s episode we’re chatting with Jen Louden about her approach to teaching and how she’s created a program that dives deep into the topics of student engagement, the course creation process, and some hidden things that prevent people from sharing their goods in the first place.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

• The truth about getting people to learn  

• The one thing you should do every single time you start a course to get people engaged quickly

• I ask Jen to expand on why less is more when you’re creating a class of any kind

• How to make sure people remember what you’re trying to teach them

• How to structure your course for different levels of people

• The ideal process of creating a class

Question…

Do you only take on projects that you’re “qualified” to do?

Would you accept a client or project or job where you weren’t technically trained to do it, but you knew you could learn?

If you’re willing to be totally honest with the people involved, these types of opportunities might be more available to you than you think.

And that’s just what happened to Kelly Kingman!

Read more over on the blog:  www.annesamoilov.com