What Works | Small Business Podcast With Tara Mcmullin

In This Episode: * What led Ginkgo Public Relations founder Cher Hale to move from Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon* How she took her business full-time in a new-to-her city* How her mom’s romance novels inspired her to discover a bold new Why for her business* What action that new Why led her to take and how she’s showing up in new ways because of it What do you want? It’s a simple enough question. What do you want from your life? From your business? From the work you do on a daily basis? What do you want from your home? Your relationships? Your community? It’s a simple question—but it’s not easy. Answering this question—even imperfectly—can give you more confidence in managing and even embracing uncertainty. What do you want is not an easy question for me to answer. What I want is often influenced by what others have, what they do, and what they’re going after. What I want is often an effort to prove that I’m good enough, smart enough, and goshdarnit, you should like me. I’

In This Episode: * How Sarah Avenir took on the role of CEO for digital development & strategy agency, &yet* Why Sarah considers herself a naturally fearful person—and how she pushes herself to face that fear* Why refining the positioning & messaging at &yet helped her to discover how her strengths could be of highest value* How she structures her work and responsibilities to maintain her capacity for leadership* Why she focuses on being “anti-overfunctioning” We’re looking for leadership. We’re living through this time of deep uncertainty: uncertainty about our health, uncertainty about our culture, uncertainty about our businesses… uncertainty about our communities, our families, and—I think—even uncertainty about our relationships with ourselves. We’re looking for leadership because there’s a lot to be wary of and, at the same time, there is a lot of opportunity too. We’re looking for leadership because where there is a leader there are other followers we can gather wi

In This Episode: * Why I chose “embrace uncertainty” as one of my commitments for 2020 and how it’s served in this wild year* How Charlie Gilkey recommends finding the most courageous next step* What led Second Breaks founder Lou Blaser to rethink her business model—and return to a years-old vision for her work in the process* What 2 questions she used to find new ways of creating value* How she used existing assets in her business to start building toward her new vision The tweet that’s pinned to the top of my profile lists my 3 commitments for this year. Those commitments are my guiding principles, the things I’m actively trying to cultivate more of in my life, the ideas that guide the decisions I made. My three commitments for 2020 are: Question normal. Expect success. And embrace uncertainty. Now, most people I know have had to recalculate their goals for 2020. But these commitments? Well, they’re more relevant than ever. In fact, I’ve had a few people @ me on Twitter and ask

How we think about money impacts what we do with money. And for many of us, what we think about money is influenced by narratives, frameworks, and biases we picked up well before we started our businesses. The money framework I picked up as a kid was that I could either make a lot of money or I could do something I love. Now, no one sat me down and told me I was destined to barely scrapping by if I didn’t choose a lucrative career that I didn’t like very much. But my little kid brain chewed on everything that I was being told and interpreted that way. I could either make a lot of money or I could do something that I loved for work. My idealist teenage brain told me that I was NOT going to be one of those people who choose to make a lot of money–so I settled on a major I loved and a career path I thought would bring me fulfillment even if I’d be struggling for the rest of my life. When I started to have major doubts about that career path, I had to go back to the drawing board. And tha

In This Episode: * Fire + Mineral founder Tiffany Whipps shares how she’s gone from willy nilly pricing to pricing for the future of her company* What her “feather money” phase taught her about the value of her products* The future expenses she’s factoring into her pricing today* What product-based businesses need to consider when they’re thinking about their pricing & business model Pricing your products or services can feel like a game of pin the tail on the moving donkey. There are so many factors to take into account. The price you choose needs to consider the market, your cost of goods sold, the positioning of your brand, the value of what you’re offering, and the cost of doing business. Each of these pricing factors have their own challenges and potential pitfalls. And just because you figure out the equation once… …doesn’t mean you’ve solved it for all time. The factors that influence price change over time. Over time, the market changes, your cost of goods change, yo

In This Episode: * The webinar that changed everything for strategist Marie Poulin* Why she decided to go “all in” on creating content about Notion and how YouTube has impacted her bottom line* How she developed and sold an in-progress online course about Notion * The process she’s using to create additional leverage in her business even when clients coming asking about 1:1 services The path to building a business that works is not mysterious. Sure, there is always some luck involved. Timing, connections, and how you show up can play a big role in whether or not you feel traction early. But the nuts and bolts of it? It’s really not up for debate. You create a product or service that people want because it is going to solve a problem or improve their lives. And then you find enough people who want it and are willing to pay the right amount for it to offset the costs of doing business. Then, you make the methods and costs of doing business efficient, effective, and humane. Okay, s

In This Episode: * Why grief & trauma worker Jennifer Patterson prices a significant portion of her work using a sliding scale* How a sliding scale system increases accessibility to valuable healing work for people from disadvantaged and marginalized communities* Why Jennifer priorities clear & direct communication when it comes to how people find the right amount to pay* What she thinks about “charging what you’re worth” (hint: she’s not a fan) People with power have used it violently against others throughout history. We are being reminded of this right here, right now. Before I get into today’s episode, I want to make sure that my position—and the position of my company—is clear. We condemn police brutality and state-sponsored violence. We believe Black lives matter. People took the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others unjustly. To our Black listeners, I want to acknowledge your cumulative pain and thank you for the superhuman ways that you

In This Episode * The single most important lesson Tara McMullin learned about money in the last 5 years* How that lesson rippled through her business and personal development as a leader* Why this lesson also led with taking stock of how much her sense of credibility was tied to the money she makes* How Sean McMullin is asking new questions about money and his relationship to it now that he’s a business owner, too* What his experience with collectivism has inspired him to consider as the business (and bank account) grows Money is always about more than the dollars and cents. No matter how nice it might be to objectively measure the value of a thing or calculate the salary of a new hire or assess the return on a particular investment, there’s always something else going on. Something that defies the ability to measure it with pure math. There are the cultural norms we carry, the familial attitudes that are passed on to us, the limiting beliefs we’ve picked up along the way. There is alwa

In This Episode: * What happened with coach Shirin Eskandani got the call for her dream job–singing in Carmen at the Met* How she discovered coaching and the process that would help her reexamine how she feels and what she wants* The role coaching plays in her life now that she is a coach herself* How she works to support her own clients in a coaching relationship today I was not a girl scout. But I love merit badges. As in, few things thrill me more than earning recognition for learning or doing something. I’ve been chasing merit badges all my life—so much so that the pursuit of merit badges has often led me away from what I really want out of life… and toward what will earn me the next badge. I’ve taken numerous jobs I didn’t want just to get the merit badge. I’ve agreed to plenty of collaborations I didn’t really want just to get the merit badge. And, I’ve chased a bunch of goals that didn’t really inspire me just to get the merit badge. Every merit badge I earn is just another att

Leading a business can be lonely. I noticed just how disconnected business owners are when I started my very first website way back in 2009. That website was a blog about makers and artists in Pennsylvania. I wrote about their stories and shared products that caught my eye. The blog was relatively popular but the real magic of it wasn’t in what I was writing about. The magic was in how it connected people who didn’t know anyone else who was trying to make a go of turning their ideas into a business. They connected on my website, they connected in an early iteration of what Facebook groups have become, and they even connected in person. Even though I haven’t written for that blog in a decade, I know there are still people from that community who support each other as business owners. They are less lonely because of the connections they made through that simple website. After I handed that blog off to other people and started down the path of business coaching and education, I noticed that

In This Episode: * How licensed professional counselor & therapeutic coach Nancy Jane Smith learned to navigate high-functioning anxiety while building her business* How high-functioning anxiety differs from our usual concept of what anxiety “looks like”* The strategies Nancy uses to help herself (and her clients) deal with HFA* Which of the 3 voices in her head Nancy uses to guide her action and keep moving forward Can we talk about anxiety? Even if you don’t think of yourself as having anxiety or dealing with anxiety, there’s a good chance you’ve felt pretty anxious over the last 2 months. I’ve been calling it ambient anxiety. It’s just in the air. Everything is in flux. Nothing is in our control. Everyone is on edge. It’s just really hard to get a solid handle on what’s going on a day to day or even hour by hour basis. Your response to all of this ambient anxiety might be to slow down—even shut down. You might feel numb or a bit panicked. You might have trouble concentrat

In This Episode: * Why Startup Pregnant founder Sarah K. Peck started organizing mastermind groups & experiences before she was even a business owner* How Sarah facilitates conversation among group members for maximum results* Why mastermind groups are less about getting answers and more about getting in touch with your own inner knowing* The role that mastermind experiences play in her business today and how her business model is structured (including pricing)* Why structure is such an important part of creating highly effective mastermind groups What would we do without the internet? I mean, really. I have access to a global library of information and ideas in my pocket at all times. If I have a question, I can typically find an answer in less than 60 seconds. And how about online learning? If I want to learn a new skill, there’s probably a YouTube video or a CreativeLive class or an ebook that will teach me what I need to know. It’s probably impossible to quantify the amo

In This Episode: * Bestselling author & business consultant Chris Brogan shares how depression and anxiety impact his experience as an entrepreneur* Why he always knows what he can “drop” when things get rough and what he isn’t willing to let slide* Why he has been transparent about his mental health challenges on social media and how he’s helping to reduce the stigma for others* How he approaches his conversations with others to be as supportive as he can, while also creating his own support network I have received an outpouring of gratitude in the last 6 weeks. Telling you that makes me quite uncomfortable and feels self-serving, but I promise there’s a point. The messages I’ve received have thanked me for being a leader and for sharing how I’m personally processing both our public health crisis and our economic pause. Many of these messages have also ended with something along the lines of: I hope there’s someone supporting you right now. And that’s why I’m sharing this with yo

The tools I use to run my business have come a long way in the last decade. Back then, I had to do most things manually. Now, integrations and automations are a given. Back then, I had to learn code and poke through dense documentation to get what I wanted. Now, everything is drag & drop. Back then, digital small business owners were repurposing tools meant for other tasks to put our businesses together. Now, we use tools that are made just for us. But it’s not just the tools that have changed. It’s also how I use them. When I started my business, I was always just trying to get one step ahead and the tools I used were solving problems as they came up–no real rhyme or reason. I didn’t stop to think about what my technology or system needs might be even a few months in the future. Today, I look at my tools in terms of how they’ll help me grow. I ask myself how I can use them to build a foundation that makes my business easier to run months or years in the future. I don’t just solve

In This Episode: * How personal trainers Holly Myers and Arryn Grogan use systems and software to run a thriving online coaching business* Why they invest in new training and certifications as tools to use in their business* What coaching online has allowed them to accomplish* What tools they use to communicate with clients, produce a library worth of content, and build programs for people to purchase My routine has been disrupted. It’s been six weeks since I’ve been to the gym and I’m quite certain my neighbors are very confused about what I’m doing with the kettlebells in the backyard. Like most gym-goers, I’ve been experimenting with working out from home and hoping that my gym family is well. Luckily, I also have an Instagram gym family—and they’ve been motivating, educating, and challenging me since long before this all started. It’s been so fun watch them re-learn how to do business overnight while, at the same time, providing an immense amount of leadership for the people they car

In This Episode: * The process Prerna Malik, founder of Content Bistro, uses to create effective copy for her clients* Why she keeps her tools simple and isn’t quick to change them just because there are new options out there* How Prerna uses experience, testing, and research to push the edge and try new things with the copy she writes* What she did to translate her service processes into a program for other agency owners and service-based businesses Your process is your most valuable tool. By that, I mean that the way you do what you do, the system you use to create results, the pattern you follow time and time again is what all the value-generating activities of your business are based on. Now, when you’re just getting started with your business, your process probably feels pretty loose and undefinable. You might even call it magic. And so then it’s no wonder that you have trouble explaining it or documenting it—let alone putting a dollar value on it. But as your business matures, y

In This Episode: * What tools Jessica Stansberry uses to run her content-driven business* How she knows when it’s time to switch tools and what criteria she uses to pick a new one* What project management tool she’d make out with if she could* How her systems and workflows help her get the most out the software she uses to run her business Most small businesses today create some form of content. Some are sporadically posting updates & photos on social media. Others take the time to create helpful articles, entertaining videos, or valuable podcast episodes. But there’s a whole category of small business that I would consider content-driven. In other words, these businesses rely on the steady production of content that keeps the existing audience happy while it also helps attract new audience members. These businesses might make money by selling advertising, leveraging affiliate marketing partnerships, or selling their own digital products. And often, it’s a combination of all three

In This Episode: * Sean and Tara McMullin, co-founders of YellowHouse.Media share the tools they use to run their podcast production agency* Sean shares the value of templates across a variety of tools* Tara sheds light on some of the “magic” tools that help them make standout podcasts* And they both share what’s working when it comes to tools for managing stress & anxiety right now When I started my business over 11 years ago, the only tool I worried about was WordPress. My business was my website and my website was my business. WordPress made it all work. And while I still use WordPress to this day, there are dozens of other tools I use to run both of my companies. There’s my email provider, my web host, our community platform, the graphic design tools I use, the communication software we chat on… each tool has it’s purpose and place within the larger business. This month, we’re going to take a deep dive into the tools that different businesses rely on to run. We’ll talk softwar

My brand is more “me” than ever. Which is funny because, up until 2017, my brand was my name. That year, I made a conscious effort to move away from my personal brand and build out a company brand, something that could represent an idea that was much bigger than me. At that same time, I started to do some significant personal work. I drank less. I ate better. I started moving my body. Later, I did a heap ton of mindset work. I discovered the great outdoors. I started to feel like a new person… and at the same time, I started to feel more myself. More comfortable with myself. More confident, more whole. Along the way, the brand I was building evolved. It created a space where I could fully belong—as a leader, a businesswoman, and as a human. I wasn’t playing at who Tara Gentile was anymore. I wasn’t hoping to become something that I really wasn’t. I wasn’t putting on a nice dress and fancy makeup and hoping people would trust me. I could just be me. We’re closing out this month o

People are still spending money. It’s a message I’ve shared over and over again over the last 2 weeks. Not everyone is spending money… and not everyone has the money to spend. But plenty of people are still investing in goods and services that will make their lives and businesses better. And along those lines, my friend Mark Butler shared some great insight with his audience last week after investing in a program–even in the midst of our current economic situation. He said that, even when times are tough, when we need help, we’ll invest with the people & businesses that we trust. Who do we trust? Well, they’re the people–the brands–that have made a lasting impact on us over the years. They’re the people and companies that have made an effort to connect with us, that share our values, that represent what we want to see more of in the world. I’m Tara McMullin and you’re listening to What Works–the show that transcends the hype to bring you stories of what’s really working for small bus