Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership

What’s In This Episode:

Does public speaking terrify you? Jill learned to speak in public thanks to the Wizard of Oz. But she's relatively comfortable in front of a crowd. Brad was in speech and debate in high school and had a lot of practice. It's important to remember that professionals don't "wing it" even though it looks like that. When someone's good at speaking, it's because they've practiced like crazy.

 "If you're not scared, you're not taking it seriously. The stakes aren't high enough." - Brad

Stylist Suze Solari helps people change the world one outfit at a time. She helps people evaluate what pieces of clothing actually serve them. She has a speaking opportunity and wants to maximize it, but needs a better call-to-action to get people to sign up for her newsletter. Jill and Brad advise her to think about her ideal client and the benefit they'll get and the CTA will write itself.

"I practice a lot with the audience in mind." - Jill

How do you feel about public speaking? Do you have any tips? 

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking20Down20Your20Business20EP20273.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Why do you subscribe to an email list? What makes you stay? Jill and Brad let you in on a little secret to a highly engaged email list.

 "I don't love email, but I enjoy really good email lists." - Jill

Recommendations are HUGE when it comes to subscribing to an email list, and Jill will often sign up if she's heard a particular email list is awesome. Of course, sometimes she subscribes because of the freebie she'll get by doing so (with plans to unsubscribe later).

Brad might hear someone on a podcast and want to know more so he'll subscribe to hear more from that person.

But then, why stay? There are so many emails out there that are bad, that if they're actually good, it's GREAT. Jill says she looks forward to the content and she learns from them - how to write better herself. (Check out Betches.)

"Know your audience really well." - Brad

Brad's a fan of Verne Harnish because he curates a really good list of resources and respects people's time. He thinks the personal connection is important.

When Jill decided to write a daily newsletter, she was terrified. She was worried everyone would unsubscribe (they didn't). By doing so, she learned what worked. And people respond way more now than they did when she was sending out an email every two weeks.

 

What email lists are your favorite and why? Let us know! Listen in

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Netblaze, LLC. Do you need help with your digital marketing? If you want to get more customers from the internet but don't know who to trust or what to do, check out Netblaze - a digital CMO for your company. Netblaze watches over your entire online presence, detects any issues you're having, and displays content on how to get rid of those issues fast. Breaking Down Your Business listeners can try it for FREE.

Direct download: Breaking20Down20Your20Business20EP20272.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

Is being an "idea person" a good thing? Saul has some listener questions.

Jill says that being an idea person is always talked about as if it's a real negative thing. But she LOVES IT. Brad has a list of ideas, but finds them hard to choose or sort it out. But Jill says that those sorts of decisions just come with experience.

 "If you have lots of ideas, it's not because you're distracted and can't pick one. You just have a good idea!" - Jill

Listener question from Sam:"When you're in a rut, what do you do to get yourself out of that rut?"

Jill: I go and talk to people; I get motivation from them.

Brad: I go out into nature with electronics off. It's like a hard reboot for my brain.

Saul's question: "When you have ideas, how do you ensure that they're not forgotten or lost?"

Jill:EVERNOTE! Or for those less technologically inclined, just write it down.

Brad: I don't feel like I have to capture every idea.

"If it's a really good idea, it'll come back." - Brad

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_271.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

What’s In This Episode:

How do you engage your team? When your team is engaged, they're getting a psychic benefit from the work. They're into it!

But even when you have the most engaged team, in the summer months, it can be tough. In this episode, Jill and Brad discuss how to keep your team engaged when they want to be outside.

 "I'm looking forward to being the old guy sitting in the coffee shop." - Brad

Brad tries to solve his personal engagement problem by taking more Fridays off in the summer so he can enjoy long weekends. Doing so allows him to be more engaged at work and then at home with his family.

Jill points out that the more time she takes off (whether it's three or four days), the more she dreads Monday. And there are some days she just wants to sit and chill out.

So how can they convince employees to stay engaged when they understand being checked out themselves?

"I don't want to take the joy of summer or breaks away from them." - Jill

It might be a good idea to check in on your employees, not nannying them constantly, but to make sure that everyone is still on track. Maybe the expectations should be lowered in the summer, but does that mean you make less income because of it? And how do you get back into the swing of things?

How do you stay engaged? How do you keep your team engaged?

Direct download: Breaking_Down_Your_Business_EP_270.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 2:00am CDT

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