Live In The Feast – Details, episodes & analysis

Today’s co-host is Peep Laja, founder of Wynter, CXL, and Speero. Peep is a believer in differentiation and disrupting yourself before the competition does it for you. 

Sometimes all it takes is stumbling upon a simple market problem without a solution. For Peep, discovering an industry gap led him to launch Wynter. Backed by a true entrepreneurial spirit, Peep became that market solution. Fortunately, his other venture was in a strong spot, so focusing all of his attention on building Wynter was possible. If you take anything from this podcast, it should be this: dual-focus is dangerous. 

In this episode, Peep talks about the sometimes intangible aspects of business, when to pivot, how to position yourself so clients actually want to work with you, and how to cut through the clutter and stand out from stiff competitors. 

Main Takeaways

• Having a dual-focus is not sustainable. Your company should be working towards one specialty. To help prioritize your day, focus on what moves the needle.
• If you lead a conversation with a client’s problem, they’ll immediately get defensive. Instead, approach the conversation with a story or a narrative, then address how your company will fix external problems within that narrative.
• Problematic messaging happens when companies act as if they’re the only ones that do website development or social media or branding. Instead, figure out what makes your business unique. For clients to choose you, you must say things other companies aren’t saying.
• Always pivot to where the market is changing and constantly focus on what makes your business unique to the people you serve. When you’re smaller, it’s easier and more advantageous to pivot.

Links and Important Mentions

• Wynter
• CXL
• Speero
• Peep on Twitter
• Peep on LinkedIn
• Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan
• WordPress
• Adeft
• Google Analytics
• Check out a bonus episode with Peep

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Chase Dimond, an expert e-commerce email marketer who’s sent more than one billion emails resulting in more than $50 million in email attributable revenue. 

As a hustle culture entrepreneur turned efficiency-obsessed first-time dad, Chase chats about his philosophies for success in business and life. One of his earliest success memories is standing out as an all-around soccer player throughout high school and college. Back then, his value came from his versatility. But when he started a marketing agency early in his career, Chase hit a wall. It was only when he decided to specialize in email marketing that the referrals poured in and his business finally grew.

In this episode, Chase talks about how and why he successfully transitioned from jack-of-all-trades to email master, the pivots in business and life that shaped him, and the powerful mindset shift that reinforces his daily decisions.

Main Takeaways

• When people understand exactly what you do, they can refer you to leads and ultimately help your business grow. 
• The transition from doing everything to having a specialty means sometimes you have to say no. And you have to hope that people who only know you as one thing will give you a chance to pivot.
• Listening more than you talk can give you an advantage in business and life. 
• Strive to add value to those around you, rather than add negativity or constantly fighting against those with different opinions. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Chase’s website
• Chase’s newsletter
• Chase on Twitter
• Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
• Check out a bonus episode with Chase

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Austin Church, brand consultant, writer, and freelance coach. Austin is the founder of brand and marketing studio Balernum. He also runs Freelance Cake, a business growth course for freelancers and consultants. Above all else, Austin believes in the power of process.

Austin realized that his perfectionism and intense drive for quality were leaving him burned out and scrambling for profits. He struggled to delegate and couldn’t find the balance between quality and scale. Eventually, Austin discovered that prioritizing process actually gave him the freedom to do what he loved and grow his business simultaneously.

Austin talks about how to decide what needs to be delegated, why taking 10 minutes to prioritize tasks leads to quick wins, and the mindset shift that defined his career.

Main Takeaways

• Time equals money and money equals the freedom to walk away from clients that don’t value your skillset. Selling premium services at a premium rate is key to unlocking that freedom. 
• Standard operating processes (SOPs) are invaluable. If you can automate essential but non-creative tasks and standardize them, you’ll improve the quality of your work because you’ll be free to focus on creating. 
• SOPs also save time with onboarding new employees. Instead of training new hires, create a training and give them access to it. 
• There’s often a conflict between quality and profitability. The more time you spend on a project the higher quality it will be, but the less profitable it becomes. SOPs and smart delegation free up time so you can improve quality without sacrificing profit. Delegation also helps prevent burnout.
• When deciding which priorities need an SOP, think about the tasks you don’t enjoy, the tasks you aren’t great at, and start there.

Links and Important Mentions

• Austin’s Website 
• Austin on Twitter
• Austin on LinkedIn
• Austin on Instagram
• Balernum
• Freelance Cake
• Jim Dethmer: Leading Above the Line [The Knowledge Project Ep. #60]
• Craft & Commerce Conference
• Notion
• Calendly
• Acuity Scheduling

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

The normal concern of you as a freelancer is how to convert a lead into a client, right? Which really boils down to how do you know that the lead will pay your price. In this episode, you’ll learn that when you can really identify with the root cause of your client, maybe even find the most important aspect of their life that’s important to them and be able to echo that back to them. You’ll know that they’ll pay you.

The basis for any sustainable business is through high-quality clients. In this episode of Live In The Feast, you are going to learn how to know exactly where that next client is coming from by working through a set of questions called the Freelancer’s Framework.

Today's episode is about a guy named Fred and a bit about his every day life, his hopes and dreams, his struggles, his successes, the reason he became a freelancer and why this podcast is perfect for him.

In this post-pandemic time, our world has been flipped on its side, and so we have to adjust our businesses and lives in ways no one had planned on. 

I'm super excited to bring on the podcast this season Austin Church, Rob Roseman, Joe Casabona, Eman Zabi, Tom Hirst, Eric Siu, Peep Laja, Samar Owais, Adrienne Barnes, and Chase Dimond to share how they've been adjusting, but most importantly how they've been able to build successful businesses and what made the biggest difference for them to achieve sustainability.

Due to your support in listening to the show, I had the absolute pleasure to hit the 100 episode milestone of this podcast. 

To celebrate that, I brought in friend and fellow podcast host, Matt Medeiros to interview me on the show and ask some of the hard-hitting questions that I've never shared anywhere before.

I'm extremely proud to bring to you Season 9 of Live In The Feast.

If you are ready, let's dive in.

Season 9 dropping Wednesday, May 19th, 2021.

Today’s co host is Alex Panagis. Alex is the founder of Scale Math, an SEO marketing agency with a bit of a twist: they are half agency and half marketing training/community. 

At just 19, Alex is well ahead of a lot of us in figuring out what he wants out of life.  In this episode, we dive into when SEO should be a focus and when you should focus elsewhere. We also talk about why picking a fight and the skyscraper strategies fail for most service-based businesses. 

Alex also talks about what to do when starting out with SEO and content marketing strategies, and what to do after you start getting some significant traffic. Alex also talks about how he knew that he wanted an autonomous career, what clients are looking for when they come to a marketing service, and his strategy for validating content marketing and articles. 

Main Takeaways

• Content marketing isn’t the best path forward for small companies just starting out. There are better ways to scale up, such as SEO or Facebook ads. Once you have market fit, then you can turn to content marketing. 
• Clients don’t necessarily care about your stats, but how much you bring to the table and how much you care about their business, especially when they grow to a large scale. 
• Don’t start your content marketing by heading to Google and figuring out search terms. Write what you know and put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing it for. 
• When you get to the point where you have the resources, focus on being the best in your space. Improve your website, improve your content, and become an authority.

Links and Important Mentions

• Scale Math
• Alex Panagis on Twitter
• When Does Content Marketing Make Sense?

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Kim Doyal. Kim, formerly known as the WordPress Chick, is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker, podcaster, and content strategist. She is the co-founder of The Content Creator’s Planner and has built her lifestyle business using WordPress and podcasting.

After spending much of her early career in retail, Kim started her first online business in 2008. Her initial idea was to sell ebooks. However, she quickly fell in love with WordPress and started building websites. 

In 2013 she launched her podcast, which acted as a coaching platform as well as a way to share her expertise with WordPress. Over time, her business has evolved, and today her Content Creator’s Planner is at the core of what she does. 

In this episode, we talk about getting clarity around what you want to do, what lights you up, and how to start doing that work. We also dive into some of the challenges Kim has faced while growing her business through ads, content, and many different projects.

Main Takeaways

• Showing up and putting in the work will always be the most important thing you can do to facilitate growth. Nothing falls from the sky — you have to work for it and work hard. 
• A lot of people have ideas for products, but few understand how to clearly communicate the intangible work. Showcase the problem, the solution, and the results.
• It’s better to provide your existing customers with better content and more meaningful information, rather than chasing numbers in advertising. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Kim Doyal
• Content Creator's Planner

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Gina Horkey. Gina specializes in helping people learn hard digital marketing skills to launch their own online service-based businesses.

Gina’s background includes professional writing, online business consulting, and a decade of experience in the financial services industry. 

After leaving the corporate world in 2014, Gina started by offering her services online. She eventually pivoted to teaching people what she was learning and all of the things that were working well for her.

Throughout our conversation, Gina talks about how to adjust to the new world of shutdowns and moving online, how to pivot if you’ve lost some of your income due to budget cuts, and lesser-known tactics of using other social media platforms to bolster your online presence. 

In this episode, we dive into how the freelancer economy has been changing in recent years and what has changed as a result of the pandemic. We also touch on how to adjust if you’ve lost some income during this time. 

Main Takeaways

• Offering services online has become more critical than ever, even for non-digital services. Those that don’t adapt to new ways of doing business will be left behind. 
• You may have to get back out there and do marketing for yourself again. Don’t be afraid to take smaller projects even if it’s not what you’re used to. 
• Focus on increasing your revenue incrementally instead of in large chunks (E.g. $500 more a month instead of $3,000).
• Facebook groups are great places to look for work because they’re tailored by industry and/or niche. 
• There’s plenty of room in the podcast space and an audience for what you want to talk about. It’s a great way to increase your online presence and find new customers. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Gina Horkey
• Horkey Handbook
• Double Your Freelancing
• Ask Rezzz
• Podcast Production School
• Gina on Twitter
• Gina on Facebook
• Gina on YouTube

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram