What Works | Small Business Podcast With Tara Mcmullin

In This Episode: * Why Martinus Evans started running in the first place* How his idea of a runner changed at the starting line of his first race* Why Toastmasters played a bit part in his decision to play bigger* How he’s defining his brand on his own terms My now-husband and I agreed on our second date: we are not people who run for fun. Run to escape zombies, sure. Run as a necessary part of a pickup game of basketball, okay. But run for miles on end chasing some feeling of inner contentment? Hell no. It was much to his dismay, then, when I started running 3 years ago. I started running because I wanted to move my body more and practice personal accountability. Running seemed the easiest way to do it—no gym membership, no expensive equipment. Just sneakers and pavement. But still, I was not running for fun. I was not one of those people. Now, let’s pause for a second and imagine what those people look like and sound like. Maybe you picture Rob Lowe’s character from Parks &

In This Episode: * Shameless Mom Academy founder & host Sara Dean shares how her brand developed over time and in partnership with her community* Why she started the podcast in the first place, as well as why it was key she didn’t have a business in mind at first* How she came to understand the rewards of imperfect action* Why she took some big risks to bring her community together in person and how it paid off It’s tempting to think that you control your own brand. After all, you’re the one paying for the logo art, the web design, the copywriting, the photo shoots… Your money, your decisions. Your story, your brand. Except… A brand is really only as strong as the idea of it in your customer’s mind. Let me say that a different way: you can put loads of thought and money into carefully crafting a brand for yourself or your business but, at the end of the day, if the customer thinks of you or your company as something else entirely, none of that thought or money matters. Yo

Well, things are weird out there. We’re all wondering how the coronavirus pandemic will shape our lives and work in the months (or years) to come. For many small business owners, there’s real uncertainty about how COVID-19 will play out. Many are feeling the immediate effects. More still are planning for the long-term fallout. Now more than ever, we need honest conversations that transcend the hype, uncertainty, and panic. This is a special episode of What Works. Normally on What Works, we talk with small business owners about what’s actually working for them. Not the hype about starting or growing a small business, but the reality of how marketing sales systems and management work on a day to day basis. But in this episode, I wanted to have an honest conversation with three business owners who I love and respect about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on their businesses now and what they expect that impact to be in the coming months. I’ve personally had to make difficul

In This Episode: * What Studebaker Metals stands for as a brand and how that shapes the choices they make about product, marketing, and messaging* Why they’re focused on producing genderless accessories—and how that impacts the conversations they have with customers* What their motto, “Slow is fast,” means and the role is plays in their brand positioning* How they make the choice about what stays and what goes when it comes to their product line Strong brands are focused and intentional. You know exactly what you’re going get from them. When a brand you’re a fan of rolls out something new, you already know you’re going to want it. They’ve sold you before they ever showed you the product—because they were never focused on selling you a product in the first place. They’ve been selling you on the idea behind the brand all along. Think Apple and how they leverage global attention with every new product cycle. Think Target and how they sell out of every new design collaboration. Think G

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Gina Bianchini has been leading a slow & intentional brand evolution at Mighty Networks* Why customer feedback has been the key factor in how the brand (and product) has adapted* How the Mighty Networks team is using an online course to gather more customer feedback and create a plan for the future of the brand* What led to leveling up the Mighty Networks visual brand in 2019 Brands evolve. Sometimes brands evolve naturally—think Dunkin’ Donuts changing their name to Dunkin’ to reflect the fact that more people think of them as a coffee place than a donut place. Sometimes brands evolve… unnaturally—think Weight Watchers changing their name to WW because, well, I’m not sure why other than they’re trying to stay afloat as more & more people care more about health than weight loss. The reason that brands evolve is that a brand is only as strong as its reputation in the mind of the customer. A company doesn’t—can’t—have sole ownership of a brand. A brand

The Nitty-Gritty: * The day Melissa Urban realized she needed to do more to make the Whole30 community more inclusive* Why she’s chosen to be public about her learning when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion* How Dr. Carrie Kholi-Murchison is taking the lead on efforts to make sure everyone feels seen and heard within the community* What unique challenges Whole30 faces in their DEI efforts* Why listening is at the heart of so many of the initiatives they’re rolling out Who’s missing here? What points of view, what lived stories, what experiences aren’t represented here? Up until a few years ago, this is a question I didn’t think to ask. The reason I didn’t ask those questions, simply put, is because the spaces I was in—the spaces I had created—seemed so normal to me. The spaces I was in and the spaces I had created were full of middle class, white women. If I’m being frank, the only question I would ask from time to time were: where are the men? Which probably just furthe

The Nitty-Gritty: * What values are woven through Rob Walling‘s many ventures* Why he started MicroConf and how it’s a direct reaction to so many communities & events for founders* How Rob sees his role as a leader of a rapidly growing community* How he turns his values into policies, systems, and operating procedures no matter one business he’s working on “Different is better than better.” That’s what Sally Hogshead says. Sally is a brand expert and the creator of the Fascination Advantage Assessment, which helps entrepreneurs and leaders discover what’s naturally fascinating about themselves. What she means is that better is fleeting. It’s uninspired. “Better,” she says, “keeps you chained to the same way of working as your competition.” Being different, on the other hand, helps you stand out. Being different helps you gather the right people around you—because they immediately see what you’re about. Different helps you win on your own terms. So how do we arrive at “differ

The Nitty-Gritty: * The “fetal position” moment that led Shannon Siriano Greenwood to start Rebelle* Why belonging, inclusivity, vulnerability, and authenticity are the top values the community leans into* How the details and design of each event help bring the values to life* How she sees her role as a leader within the Rebelle community* How she’s managing the growth of Rebelle so that she ensures its values continue on Stepping up as a leader takes a willingness to walk a fine line. On one hand, you become a leader because there is a community, an organization, a group, or a movement that you care passionately about. Your leadership is an expression of belonging at the same time it is a question of possibility. On the other hand, as a leader, you have a responsibility to set the tone, to hold others accountable, to make decisions for the group, and set standards. Your leadership is product of always being a few steps in front of the rest of the group. Whether you’re leading a team, a

The Nitty-Gritty: * The frustrating situation that led Erica Courdae to go on her own and create Silver Immersion, an inclusive hair and beauty company* How Erica has developed her voice and ability to stand up for what she believes in* Why modeling is a key way she leads her team—and her clients* How she made the transition into coaching and decided to specialize in diversity, equity, and inclusion for business owners* Why Erica takes a stand for imperfect allyship and how that plays out in her business Values. We talk a good game about having values, living our values, and even running a business with our values. But, like, what does that really mean? It’s not enough to have them written down somewhere. It’s not enough to put them on your website. It’s not enough to talk through them with a new hire. No, values can be, should be, the filter for how we do everything in our businesses. Part of our job as business owners—as leaders—is to ensure that the values we hold dear are opera

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Kickass Conferences founder Isaac Watson manages massive projects like organizing a conference* The 5 phases that each event plan goes through and how project management works at each stage* What tools Isaac and his teams use to ensure every detail is accounted for and every guest has a fabulous experience* How he manages the experience on the ground during a live event I used to balk at project management. It felt like the systems I was supposed to follow were imposing rules on things that didn’t need rules. I’d get it done. And I’d do it my own way, gosh darn it. But then, at some point… …probably the 341st time I didn’t have enough time to execute a project the way I really wanted it to be done… …I realized that project management is as much about honing your craft as it is about making sure you hit deadlines or don’t forget a step. Teasing out the bits and pieces of how projects happen helps us make better stuff… …whether what you’re making is a pu

The Nitty-Gritty: * 5 small business owners share the project management tools they can’t live without* Why each tool is the right fit for the way each business owner works* How they incorporate the tools into their workflows* Plus, what tools haven’t worked for them Project management is so much more than software. But if you think about tools like Asana, Trello, Clickup, or Notion (referral link that helps to support What Works) when you hear project management, you’re certainly not alone. I remember when Asana first started gaining popularity among digital small business owners. “Finally!” we thought collectively, “We can figure out how to get it all done.” Of course, most of us quickly realized that software like Asana doesn’t solve the problem of having too much work, unclear priorities, and a decidedly nonlinear project to complete. Project management is as much about how you approach the work that needs to get done as the software you use. So if project management is as much

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why clear client communication helps on-demand CFO & cash flow analyst Christina Sjahli manage her complex financial projects* The system she uses to keep track of documents and change history* How she uses deadlines for herself and her clients to manage the progress of her projects* What Christina learned from her corporate finance experience that’s transferred to her own business—and what she left behind Can I really learn project management as an entrepreneur? A few of years ago, it became trendy to explain away the operational problems in our businesses by saying something like, “Dammit, Jim! I’m an entrepreneur, not a manager.” This trend was fueled by a book called Rocket Fuel, by Gino Wickman. In Rocket Fuel, Wickman argues that entrepreneurs are Visionaries. He writes, “Entrepreneurs hunt. They don’t manage. They explore rather than analyze. They build companies with vision, creativity, and tenacity; not with policies and procedures.” He continues by su

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Brooklyn Book Doctor founder Joelle Hann manages the process of book writing for her clients* What her book coaching experience taught her about creating and managing a group book proposal writing program* The tools Joelle uses to track her clients’ progress and coach them along to completion* Why it’s key for Joelle to consider the human element at every stage of managing a book writing project What happens when project management and the creative process collide? I think we expect a mess. A gnarly pileup of missed deadlines, unrealistic task lists, and artistic prerogative. But what if the creative process was manageable? What if there was a way to do your best creative work while also honoring your commitments to the more objective pieces of your project? That’s the question we’re asking today. Managing the creative process is exactly what my guest, Joelle Hann, does. Joelle is the founder of Brooklyn Book Doctor. She works with authors to help them co

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Kaye Publicity founder Dana Kaye plans and manages multi-layer book publicity projects* The tools she uses to track progress, run reports, and organize the information that goes into every project* How her team members take ownership of different areas of each project* Why she’s learning to take a more top-level role in each project they manage One of my most important personal commitments from last year was to “work the system.” In other words, I wanted to stop constantly reinventing the wheel, breaking things that weren’t broken, and looking for new novel things to add to my plate. I wanted to take the systems that we had as a company and work them. No more pretending that I didn’t have to follow the procedure or document my work just because I was the boss. No more excuses for why my tasks weren’t getting checked off or the process wasn’t getting completed. Just working the systems we had, making them better, and following through until every last item was cros

We’ve had a helluva year here at What Works. We’ve talked to over 100 small business owners, published more than 80 episodes, and tackled 12 different themes this year. What Works is special because we focus on the people who are making their businesses work every single day. We believe we all have a lot to learn from each other—and the more honest & transparent we are about how our marketing, operations, tools, product development, or sales processes work, the better chance we all have for success. On this episode, it’s no different—except, instead of me being the one asking the questions, you are! Here’s what we covered: * 2:20 What are the best ways to grow your organic reach on social media today?* 12:48 What kind of structure have you used for in-person strategy intensives?* 19:31 What’s working for you right now as you deal with capacity challenges in a 1:1 service business?* 28:46 What trends do you see coming in 2020?* 36:08 How did you come up with the name for YellowHouse.M

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The Nitty-Gritty: * Why podcast advocate Elsie Escobar created a personal process for looking back over the year and setting her intentions for the year to come* How setting clear boundaries helps her to stay on top of her commitments and execution* The tools she uses to look back over the past year and how they give her a fresh perspective on what she’s experienced Do you know what you did this year? Do you know how many blog posts you published? How many emails you sent out? How many customers bought your product? Have you kept track of the accolades that have come your way? Or the speeches you’ve delivered? Or the interviews you’ve done? When the year is hurtling toward a close, it’s easy to lose track of everything you’ve accomplished already. All you can see in front of you is a to-do list that absolutely must get done before you can relax and enjoy the holiday cookie spread. But that’s precisely why taking a look back is key. This month, we’re examining how we can take better

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Toi Smith made the shift from virtual assistant to online business manager to growth & impact strategist* How she reassessed the true value behind what she was offering her clients so she could rework her business model* What eliminating exploitative business practices from her own model has taught her about creating value* How her rates, working hours, and client load is different now that she’s built a business that helps her take care of herself Business is an experiment. You try something, you get a result, you learn. Then you try something else. Little by little, the learning adds up to a business that works. But often, our learning leads us down a path that earns some money and keeps us busy but doesn’t really let us thrive. Discovering “what works” can feel like a dead end. In other words… …success can make you feel stuck. You’re your own boss. You’ve got good clients. You have plenty of work to do. By many accounts, you’re successful.

The Nitty-Gritty: * How The Joy Of Missing Out author Tonya Dalton discovered the stories and self-talk that were keeping her from really enjoying life and celebrating her success* Why identifying the litmus tests she put herself through helped her determine what she really wanted out of life and business* How she reflects on the good, the bad, and the ugly to keep her stories and self-talk in check* How Tonya rewrites her stories so her self-talk supports her and the life she wants to lead Let’s talk about self-talk. Self-talk is that voice inside your head that narrates everything happening around you. Sometimes self-talk pumps you up—like after you nail a meeting with a new client and you remind yourself what a boss you are. Sometimes self-talk cuts you down—like when you realize you’ve made a mistake and you tell yourself you’re such a screw-up. I think we’re all pretty familiar with how our inner critics or inner cheerleaders can impact the way we feel or act at this point. Wh

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why SmartStart founder Linda Lopeke has every potential client complete a rigorous application* How she sets expectations clearly from the get-go so that every client has the best chance of getting results* What inspired her approach to business systems and client experience* How she makes brand-new clients feel at ease, step-by-step Starting my working life as a retail worker, I always associated “customer service” with what you do when there’s a problem. A customer needs to make a return. They have a question about this week’s sale. They need to report a problem with the bathroom. Despite years and years of training on customer service, no one ever said to me: customer service starts before the customer even walks in the door. Customer service is having the right product on display. It’s having the carpet freshly vacuumed. It’s having the music at the right level, playing the right songs. Do customer service right, right from the beginning, and you dramatically r