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. 

“Differentiation is not a line of copy. It needs to be your actual DNA, what you stand for. And it should be owned by the founder or CEO of the company.” ~ @peeplaja

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.

“By not choosing something and by picking everything, I did nothing. So as soon as I started telling people, ‘Hey, I’m gonna try this email marketing thing, that’s the thing I love, that’s the thing I’m good at’, they were like, ‘Oh, you do email marketing. All those emails I get in my inbox, I get it.’ It started feeling really really tangible. And when people understood what I did, that allowed them to help me. They were able to send me clients, they were able to give me advice, they were able to connect me with people in the industry.” ~  @ecomchasedimond

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.

“For me, process equals freedom. I want to have more time to spend on the parts of a project that I love, whether it’s for a client or it’s for myself. And by [documenting] some of the essential but non-creatives tasks, action-steps, that sort of thing, I have so much more freedom. I have so much more joy in my work.” ~ @austinlchurch 

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. 

“People don't work with the best in the business necessarily. They care about you, your story, and what you bring to the table and how much you actually care about their business.” ~ @alexpanagis

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.

“Everything that I've done that comes from a place of joy (rather than attaching a specific outcome to it) makes me the most money and feels like the least amount of work.” ~ @kimdoyal

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. 

“When you're getting started with offering services online you should take a skills inventory of what you know how to do right now. That kind of gets your mind revved up to learn new things.” ~ @Gina_Horkey

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

Today’s co-host is Reuven Lerner. Reuven teaches Python and data science to companies around the world and has been self-employed since 1995. In addition to his corporate training business, he also offers numerous online courses, as well as a free weekly newsletter read by 16,000 Python developers. 

In 1992, Reuven was an undergrad at MIT working at the school newspaper. He essentially stumbled into working on the web when he and his classmates built a website for the newspaper. 

Since wide use of the web was so new, he had to learn coding along the way in order to write software to keep their server running. As he continued to learn coding languages, he started doing software development. When he returned to school to complete his Ph.D. he began doing more and more training sessions.

Reuven made proactive changes within his business model to adjust for the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather than see it as a setback, he saw it as an opportunity. We talk about some of those changes and how he plans to move forward post-pandemic.

We also talk about having a skill that the market has a need for and being able to recognize that opportunity and capitalize on it, as well as how to look at opportunities and evaluate them effectively for your business. 

“From the business perspective, it's scalable and I can sell many more and I can make much more money. So when, for example, over two months, I basically didn't have any courses in person, I was still able to sell a whole bunch of online courses to individuals around the world, using my platform and even to a few companies that wanted to buy my courses for their groups.” ~ @reuvenmlerner

Main Takeaways

• The best way to sell whatever you’re providing is to solve a specific problem. The better you can describe this problem and how you solve it, the more likely you are to get customers. 
• Learning in person is ideal, but given the state of the world, there are advantages to distance learning in terms of accessibility, scalability and the ability to rewind and reassess topics. 
• Sometimes B2B and B2C markets are totally distinct. The crossover between marketing to individuals and getting corporate gigs isn’t as pronounced as you might think. 
• Leveraging your past experiences to create a foundation for your next endeavor is important. There are skills you gain from your hobbies and jobs that can usually transfer from one thing to the next. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Python Workout by Reuven M. Lerner
• Reuven Lerner
• Reuven on Twitter
• Jack McDade

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Erin Flynn. Erin currently operates Successfully Simple with Erin Flynn where she helps business owners of all kinds (freelancers, designers, developers, marketers) build and streamline their businesses.

In 2012, after leaving her day job, Erin found herself making websites. After discovering that she could be more profitable by narrowing her focus, she decided to help other business owners do the same. She’s learned the importance of momentum and appreciating the journey. 

In this episode, we talk about how she got started building websites, her entry into the entrepreneurial space, the “aha” moment that made her realize she could work less and make more, and how she manages to juggle all the different services she offers while keeping her business afloat.

“Moving forward and understanding what works for you and what is going to make a big impact is critical.” ~ @Erin3Flynn

Main Takeaways

• Looking at your business retrospectively and recognizing what got you to where you are today is the best way to figure out how you should move forward and what your strengths are. 
• Everyone has to hustle and work hard in the beginning, but that work can pay off in the long run. You’ll eventually hit the point where you will see results. 
• Set expectations immediately, and screen your clients for those that will fit into those expectations. It will make your life a lot easier.
• Approach your business like an experiment; once you're done with a client, go back and look at what worked well and what didn’t. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Erin Flynn
• Erin on Twitter
• Erin on Instagram
• Create an intro packet to streamline your client by screening and onboarding by Erin Flynn

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Ken Westgaard. Ken is the self-proclaimed Launch Dude and helps coaches and course creators plan and execute their launches without the headaches. 

Ken has a ton of wisdom to share about the economic and societal shifts going on right now and how that impacts putting your work out into the world. 

Ken started his career as a graphic designer and eventually moved into email marketing. After a customer called him out on some issues, he had to step back and reexamine what truly made him excited to show up every day. He found that excitement in launches and helping clients navigate the ins and outs of getting their products into the world.

As coaches and providers, there are two main roles we occupy for our clients: the psychologist and the cheerleader. Rather than speaking for our clients, Ken believes it’s important to serve as a guide. 

In this episode, we talk about how Ken started working for himself, why it’s important to trust your gut, and why it’s important to continue launching, even in times of uncertainty.

“I made the decision that I'm going to trust my gut a little bit more—my intuition. I know that sounds a little bit cheesy, but from that point on, things have been moving at a faster pace. It just feels lighter. It feels easier. It doesn’t feel forced at any point at all.” ~ @kenwestgaard

Main Takeaways

• Trusting your gut and intuition is a learned skill that takes work. But in the end, it will have a significant impact on your business decisions.  
• Just because the world is upside down right now doesn’t mean that people aren’t buying. Many people still have jobs, are still spending money, and still need the products and services you offer.
• Being the face of your business is not about you. It’s a disservice to your prospective clients to not sell or share your expertise and knowledge. 
• When it’s time to launch, you want to press play and go. You don’t want to be bogged down by a bunch of busywork that should have been done before. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Ken Westgaard
• OMG I’m Launching Podcast by Ken Westgaard
• Ken on Instagram

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today's co-host is Miles Beckler. Miles is a veteran online entrepreneur with 17 plus years of experience and expertise in digital marketing and affiliate marketing. He started with MySpace back in 2003, then built an agency, and is now working with his wife full-time on their meditation business.

Miles is on a mission to help business owners focus on what matters most by sharing exactly what's working in internet marketing today. There's always money to be made somewhere, but that’s not what drives him; it’s being of service to others. He’s passionate about spirituality and mindfulness, which is what led to Ask-Angels.com - the business that he and his wife run together.

As the economic landscape continues to shift, we’re seeing many new opportunities crop up while other businesses and sectors completely disappear. Flexibility and a willingness to try new things have always been an important part of successful entrepreneurship, but it’s now truer than ever. 

In this episode, we dive into feeling awkward about publishing, reflecting on your why,  and what that means for you when you get punched in the face.  We also talk about where, how, and why Miles got into digital marketing, why affiliate marketing isn’t just links, and how to figure out where to start creating content when you’re the face of your business.

“My first business all came crashing down because I wasn't building relationships, I wasn't being the main point of contact. I was just a middleman and I think that's affiliate marketing done wrong.” ~ @MilesBeckler

Main Takeaways

• Affiliate Marketing is a great way to deliver what you need to your high-end clients while still capturing revenue from a segment that isn’t ready to buy your services.
• If you’re building an email list, it’s important to remember the relationship you have with those subscribers and humanize them instead of treating them as numbers. When the time is right, they will look to you for expertise and/or recommendations in your specific niche. 
• Affiliate marketing done right is, “I use this, I love this. It creates these results for me. Let me show you how I use this tool to get these results. And by the way, if you want it, you can just click right here.”
• If you’re getting started as the face of your brand, you need to determine your medium (writing, video,  audio, etc.) and then be dedicated to creating that content on a regular basis. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Miles Beckler’s Site
• Miles’ YouTube Channel
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
• Jab Jab Jab Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuck
• Shure MV-88 Digital Mic

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Mark Asquith. Mark is the founder of Rebel Based Media and a suite of other companies focused on podcasters. Mark is also a repeat guest from season five. 

Self-described as “wandering through life,” Mark found his way to podcasting through many other endeavors. He founded Podcast Websites, which eventually expanded into Rebel Base Media and several sub-brands. 

Mark says he’s never felt like an entrepreneur, though he’s run nearly every kind of business you can think of throughout his career. From angel investing and podcasting to coaching and other client services, you name it, he’s done it.

As an expert at leveraging one business to grow others, Mark is fond of saying, “solve one problem, not do one thing”, and it drives everything he does. 

In today’s episode, we talk about why playing the long game is so important and how to be patient with the market. We also cover how to figure out the next steps when you have a great idea, and how to have confidence in pursuing it. 

“So many people are willing to look just at this surface and say, well, you're doing too much or you're not niching enough, but you've got to trust your vision.” ~ @MrAsquith

Main Takeaways

• If you're on the road to becoming an entrepreneur, have the confidence to take on a task and figure out how to do it later. Take a leap of faith and believe that you're smart enough to figure out how to overcome the challenges you’ll face. 
• There are only three types of tasks: important, interesting, and integral. Important is the stuff you need to get done with your productive time, interesting is what you do to refuel, and integral is maintenance or obligatory tasks. Figuring out which ones fall into which category will help you grow your business.
• Have the confidence to say ‘no’ to an idea now so that you can give it a resounding ‘yes’ later. Make sure you deeply understand your industry before putting out what you think will be a winning product.

Links and Important Mentions

• Mark’s Website
• Mark on Twitter
• Rebel Based Media
• Captivate
• Podcast Websites
• Poductivity
• Live in the Feast Season 5 Episode 3 with Mark Asquith
• Podcast Success Academy
• Mark's TEDx Talk

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Matt Medeiros, host of the Matt Report podcast and the Director of Podcast Success at Castos. To mark episode 100 of Life in the Feast, Matt will be taking the reins and interviewing Jason about his 10-year “overnight” success story.

Back in 2012, Jason was forced to choose between paying rent and his cable bill. His bed or his business. And even deeper, his passion or his family. At that moment, Jason made the tough decision to end his freelancing career and return to a job for the sake of his then-fiancé. However, when he broached the subject with her, she reminded him that freelancing was his dream. She encouraged him to keep on trucking a little longer.

So that’s exactly what he did. Rather than throw in the towel, Jason re-examined his business, raised his prices, and doubled down on a new niche. He kept grinding and ended up on the other side.

Almost a decade later, Matt talks with Jason about his journey to freelance success, navigating tough life and business decisions, what he’s learned about networking and adding value, and why shutting up served him in unexpected ways.

“Everything that I try to do from the business perspective is to serve the customers, but also see where a trend is headed and try to cater to that in some sort of fashion.” ~ @rezzz

Main Takeaways

• Staying a generalist won’t lead you to success. While it’s tempting to say yes to everyone, especially as your business is still launching, focus on figuring out what your niche is and then double down on it. 
• If you’re struggling to find your niche, go straight to your clients and see what they need help with. Look for trends and determine where your expertise aligns with a common need. 
• Fill in the gaps of your knowledge and expertise by outsourcing and finding wise mentors whenever possible. 
• The key to success with clients is learning to listen. Spend more time hearing what their needs are and observing things about their life and business. Listening always pays off. 
• Start adding free value in the communities you live and influence in. The more people you can help, the easier networking and growing your business will become.

Links and Important Mentions

• Matt Report
• The We Are Here Podcast
• Castos
• The WP Elevation Podcast
• Alex McClafferty
• Ruby On Rails
• WooCommerce
• WordPress
• Curtis McHale on Saying No
• Drip
• ConvertKit
• NurtureKit
• Rezzz.com
• WP Mentor Site

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Sarah Masci. Sarah is a designer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Bracken House Branding Co. 

Sarah has been in the online business game for 15 years now, and she’s the epitome of building a business around the life she wants.

In the beginning, she experimented with lots of different channels and products, including Etsy and blogging. Since she was DIYing everything—from her website to her ads—others began asking her for help with branding and design. She dabbled in client work as a side hustle for a few years before deciding to go all in. 

Sarah currently uses a day-rate billing model, and building her reputation with clients early was important when she decided to make that change.

Knowing her work was solid, clients were excited by the billing mode. And it’s worked out well. Sarah has been doing day rates for two years now and is still going strong. 

Sarah has also expanded into creating courses and products that help other designers figure out how to use day rates themselves. 

In today’s episode, we talk about the benefits of a day rate model and how it can reduce stress, how to make the transition yourself, and how Sarah started creating courses on the subject as well.

“Get clear on just a few things that you are really good at—something that you’re consistently asked to do and something that gets you out of bed on a Monday morning ready to conquer your day.” ~ @Sarah_Masci

Main Takeaways

• The first thing to do before you start offering day rates is knowing what you're going to offer. Don't offer too many things. Instead, offer the things you're really good at—something you can do consistently, and something that excites you.
• Testing day rates can be as easy as messaging your client base and asking if it works for them. If you have the reputation, it won't be hard for them to get on board with what you're doing.
• To make sure the work is doable within a day, have clients fill out some sort of questionnaire. Make sure to set expectations for communication throughout the day.

Links and Important Mentions

• Bracken House Branding
• Mood Board Challenge
• StoryBrand
• Val Geisler
• Live in the Feast S03 E08 - Val Geisler
• Sarah’s Design + Branding Courses
• Sarah on Instagram
• Sarah on Twitter

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Matt Giovanisci. Matt is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Money Lab, a website where he writes, podcasts, and chronicles epic experiments about making money online.

Matt is a proud generalist. Over the course of his career, he has worked with clients, created online courses and products, and built multiple businesses. He’s also a musician.  

As a kid, he started out as a pool boy. He taught himself how to build websites and created Swim University, which is still his main business today. 

One of the recurring themes in Matt’s story is his desire to constantly learn and try new things. This has created lots of twists and turns in his career, but he’s figured out how to make it work for him. 

One of the things he does particularly well is documentation. He knows how to show his work, as Seth Godin likes to say, and writes in-depth articles about everything he tries.

In today’s episode, we talk about how to run experiments in your business without losing focus, how to get around the roadblocks holding you back, and why you should build a team, even if you like doing everything yourself.

"If someone tells me I can't, I will. If someone tells me it's impossible, I will do whatever it takes to make it possible." ~ @MattGiovanisci

Main takeaways

• Transitioning your focus from one aspect of your business to another comes from your desire to learn and grow. Having a generalist perspective can make this process easier. 
• If you continue to do everything yourself, you're wasting time that could be spent growing your company. Hiring someone is a great way to force yourself to focus on the things only you can do.
• Take new projects one step at a time. If you think you need something, investigate it. Create a hypothesis, try it out, and let that inform your decisions.

Links and important mentions

• Money Lab
• Money Lab Podcast
• Matt’s Career Timeline
• Swim University
• Matt on Twitter

Stay in touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 2 of Season 8

Today's co-host is Emily Leach. Emily has been a freelancer for 20 years and organizes many big events, including TEDx Talks and the Freelance Conference.

Emily is a hustler. If she puts her mind to something, she goes out and does it. Most recently, she set out to host her first virtual summit. Freelance Conference (or FreeCon), was created out of a need that Emily was already working to fill through her site,  Texas Freelance Association. 

In the beginning, she had hundreds of freelancers, but no gigs. Knowing that it would fizzle out quickly if she didn’t do something, she started personally evaluating jobs on Craigslist and other platforms and then hand-matching them to freelancers in her community. 

As Emily watched the community grow, and more freelancers find the support they needed, she saw an opportunity to scratch her own itch and create something unique. And thus FreeCon was born. 

In today's episode, I talk with Emily about socializing for introverts, how to find solutions by looking at your own skillset, and how to evaluate your business needs without over-committing yourself.

I really want their [freelancers] voice out there. It gives me an opportunity to support the work that you guys are doing and put you in front of other people and engage with what you're talking about and help some other freelance business owners get more reach. ~ @emilyleach

Main takeaways

• It's important for freelancers to be able to meet up and support each other through shared ideas and networking. Conferences are a great way to do this.
• Figure out how to market your skillset. You may not even realize that you possess a skill that's valuable or needed by someone else. You can become a specialist by looking at what people need.
• It's easy to take on a lot of different projects as a freelancer, but once you're over-committed, it can be hard to identify what you should let go. It’s important to evaluate everything you’re doing and figure out what’s important.

Links and important mentions

• Emily Leach
• FreeCon
• Texas Freelance Association
• Freelance Business Weeks
• Emily Leach on Twitter

Stay in touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 1 of Season 8

Today’s co-host is Michele Ronsen. Michele has been teaching design and user research for more than 20 years, and is the founder of Curiosity Tank, a design and user research firm in San Francisco.

Michele partners with companies and individuals to improve and grow businesses using a data-driven, consumer-centric approach. She’s worked with companies like Slack and Zillow, and she’s a regular instructor at General Assembly.

One of the primary ways she does this is by helping people ask better questions. It’s not rocket science. But there is an art to asking the right questions, and setting them up in a way where your customers will answer honestly.

In today’s episode, we talk about how you can apply these principles in your own business. Michele also helps us better understand the fine art of digging deeper in a meaningful and effective way.

In this episode Michele talked about:

• The differences between working with solo entrepreneurs and more mature companies with established user experience knowledge.
• Figuring out what you want to learn, understanding where you are in the learning process, and applying that knowledge.
• The core follow-up phrases she teaches in her The Art Of The Interview class.

"User research to me is part art, part science and part improv. And that improv to me is a lot of acting, getting into that beginner’s mindset, and exploring and mining these areas with that mindset". ~ Michele Ronsen

Main Takeaways

• There are two ways to gather information: listening and observation. Listening helps us understand the “why”. Observation helps us understand habits, behaviors, and actions.
• Talk to customers and get their feedback. It can be scary to reach out, but it’s worth it.
• Don’t shy away from criticism. Even critical feedback can help us understand how we can improve our customer experience.
• Be fully present in all of your interactions with people. Be engaged and make observations about things like body language. There is a difference between what people say and what people do, and if you’re distracted during interactions, you might end up missing these nuances.
• Practice and get comfortable with essential follow-up phrases.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Curiosity Tank
• Curiosity Tank classes - Use promo code FEAST15 for 15% off any class
• Curiosity Tank Newsletter
• Sales Call Role Play
• Michele on LinkedIn

In this episode, we’re going to do something a little different. Instead of talking to a guest, I want to answer some questions about podcasting and marketing, and share how it’s helped me grow my business.

After publishing 358 episodes across three different shows, as well as appearing as a guest on hundreds of other podcasts, I’ve collected a few skills, tips, and reminders that are helpful if you’re thinking about creating your own podcast.

Podcasting has helped me not only position and grow my business, but build important relationships with other people. I think podcasting is one of the best marketing tools we have as freelancers and small business owners, and my hope is that you’ll realize how powerful it can be for your business as well.

Here are some of the things we’ll cover:

• How I got started learning about the full potential of podcasting.
• How podcasting can be an incredible way to market your business and gather leads.
• How to build relationships and networks from podcast guests that are mutually beneficial.

"I realized the power of the relationships that were built from meeting people on the show. It’s where I met amazing folks that I still talk with today."

Main Takeaways

• Marketing is an often underutilized benefit of podcasting. As you continue podcasting, you’ll start generating new leads organically. Because of this, it’s important to be intentional about your subject matter and plan accordingly.
• Podcasting is a great way to connect to and build high-quality relationships with people. The more people you meet through podcasting, the bigger your referral network becomes. This creates mutually beneficial relationships with other business owners.
• If you own a business, podcasting is the perfect tool to promote growth. Even if it’s a loosely scheduled show, it can be highly beneficial in growing your business.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Sales Call Roleplay
• Learn how to build a service business based around your life
• Jason on Twitter
• Live in the Feast on Twitter
• Jason on YouTube
• Jason on LinkedIn

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 9 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Kate Gilbert. Kate is a WordPress expert, an online marketing coach, and has spent the past decade building and supporting custom WordPress websites. In that time, she’s helped launch more than a hundred websites, and teaches website owners how to launch their own websites and maximize their online reach.

Kate’s been a web consultant since 2005 and her ideal client has evolved along the way. Currently, she works with female business owners at a critical stage of growth. Their businesses are big enough that they need some help getting to the next level, but still want to be involved in the process. Kate specializes in partnering with these kinds of founders and business owners.

Kate focuses on personality, more than industry or revenue, to identify her ideal client. And this has given her a lot of confidence in knowing what kind of person will be an ideal fit for her business.

In this episode, we dive into how to shift your ideal client as you evolve, and what that means for existing clients. We also talk about the importance of empathy and being a good listener. Finally, we dive into how to be flexible with your ideal client.

"I realized along the way that it’s more about the personality of the site owner, than it is about the industry that they’re in. A lot of times you can tell the way a project is going to go from that very first discovery phone call, before you even write the proposal."

In this episode Kate talked about:

• Who her ideal client is and how she keeps the pulse on that segment of the market.
• Why the decision to work for herself was such a big deal in her life, and how it put her on her current path.
• How she used post-launch analysis of her clients to define which ones were ideal, and which ones weren’t.

Main Takeaways

• Trial and error is a massive part of defining your ideal client. After going through enough clients, you’ll be able to pick out which clients have “red flags” and which ones will be a good fit. It may take time, but it’s the most foolproof way to understand who you want to work with.
• Sometimes the most rewarding or impactful work may not be doing the work itself, but empowering others to do things for themselves. Work will always be available, but making a lasting change can be greatly rewarding.
• Teaching your clients how to solve their own problems, or inviting them to be a part of the process with you, can not only save you time, but significantly deepen your relationship with your clients.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Kate on Twitter
• WP Master
• Get Your Guide from WP Master
• WP Master on Instagram
• WP Master on Facebook
• Code Wiz

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 8 of Season 7

Today’s cohost is Paul Sokol. Paul is a self-proclaimed mad scientist. He’s worked on humanized automation within Infusionsoft, and is also the co-founder of Be Pro, which markets in-person events for businesses, venues, or entertainers.

Paul has spent a lot of time thinking about ideal clients and how to find them with a quick and replicable process. He truly believes that all sales conversations go through the same phases, regardless of what your selling. So if you can identify your audience, you can sell anything, regardless of product or service. And he applies these concepts to events, which is where a lot of his focus is now.

In this episode, we dive into how to capitalize on an opportunity where most think there isn’t one. We chat about the four parts of identifying your ideal client, and we talk about Paul’s exact recipe for validating the avatar.

"There are all sorts of ponds out there and you have to know what fish you’re going for so you can use the right bait and the right lures."

In this episode Paul talked about:

• Who his ideal client is and how he got into that segment of the market.
• Why many events out there make no money and what they are doing wrong.
• The four parts of identifying your ideal client.

Main Takeaways

• Events should be treated like any other product or service. You should intentionally design the customer experience, the fulfillment, and how the sales experience is going to work.
• In figuring out your ideal client, focus on the demographics of your client, figuring out who they are, figuring out their behaviors, and positioning your message to convey what their life could be like.
• If you’ve come up with an avatar, you need to go the extra mile and research (or digitally stalk) these people. Once you’ve done that, it’s critical to put your money where your mouth is and test the advertising to make sure that you are getting the results that you believe should come from your ideal personas.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Be Pro
• Paul on Facebook
• Paul on LinkedIn
• InfusionSoft
• Paul Sokol Newsletter
• Keep Children Rockin’

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 7 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Adam Clark. Adam is a fellow podcaster and the founder of Podcast Royale, a company that helps business owners grow their businesses and save time through done-for-you podcast production and marketing.

Adam and I have been friends for years, and Podcast Royale produces this very podcast. We were talking recently about ideal clients and how that relates to “founder market fit”, and we decided to record our conversation and share it with you.

Adam is a self-described serial entrepreneur. Over the last 20 years, he’s started half-a-dozen businesses and gone through just as many different careers. He used to see this as a negative thing — a lack of discipline or self-control. But in recent years, he’s come to see it as a strength.

The most important thing is to figure out what you really want out of life (and business). You won’t make much progress until you’ve taken the time to deeply understand your ultimate goals and desires.

"Most people do what they do because it’s what they’ve always done, or because they’ve been told, or believe, it’s what they’re supposed to do. We rarely take the time to examine our lives and really ask what it is we actually want. Because it’s easier to just keep doing what we’re doing than it is to change — even if that change means a greater level of happiness and freedom in the future."

In this episode Adam talks about:

• The importance of finding founder market fit, and not just product market fit.
• How your values and ultimate desires should be the foundation of your business, and inform your ideal client.
• Giving yourself permission to pursue what truly matters you, even if it's risky.

Main Takeaways

• In order to understand your business and your ideal client, you have to know yourself, and what you truly value. And this knowledge only comes from time and experience. Try things, and be willing to fail.
• If you’re not sure what you want, or who your idea client should be, start with what you don’t want, or who you don’t want to work with. Sometimes it’s easier to know what you don’t want, than what you do want. And that’s ok.
• Give yourself permission to explore, and pursue what feels right to you, even if it goes against traditional business wisdom. It’s better to figure that out early, than to get really good at something you hate doing.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Podcast Royale
• Adam’s Newsletter
• Adam on Twitter
• Adam on Instagram

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 6 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Kaleigh Moore. Kaleigh is a freelance writer who specializes in blog content for e-commerce platforms, and the software that integrates with them. She’s also written for Forbes, Ad Week, and Glossy. Kaleigh also co-hosts the Creative Class podcast, and helps run the Creative Class online course with Paul Jarvis, a former co-host of Live In The Feast S03 E04. Definitely give that a listen.

Kaleigh started writing copy as a freelancer about six years ago, and her clients and business have evolved quite a bit since then. As her interests and opportunities shifted, she allowed her business to shift with them. She’s also worked to niche down her business so that she focuses on creating blog content rather than being a generic copy writer.

In 2013, Kaleigh was working as a PR manager for a non-profit and wanted more flexibility in her schedule (and commute!). She gave herself an 18-month window to try out freelancing. If it didn’t work within that time, she committed to going to back to work. That was a huge moment for Kaleigh, and has defined her life and career.

In this episode, we talk about Kaleigh’s business and how her ideal client has evolved over time. We also talk about how to be selective and figure out who you want to work with, and why exit interviews are so important.

"It took me a long time to figure out the clients I should pass on. It’s always a little bit difficult to figure out who’s going to be the best fit for your work style and your personality. So, it was a lot of trial and error for me."

In this episode Kaleigh talked about:

• Who her ideal client is and how she got into that segment of the market.
• How she stays ahead of the industry and tweaks her business model to get in front of new audiences.
• Why she conducts exit interviews and how it’s changed her business.

Main Takeaways

• Be mindful of the fact that things are often changing and evolving. It’s your responsibility to evolve with your industry and to stay relevant to the people you’re working for. It helps if you follow your own interests and use that to expand your offerings and audience.
• Finding who you want to work with can be a lot of trial and error. Interest and expertise should drive these decisions.
• Exit surveys or interviews are invaluable in figuring out what to offer your clients moving forward, and sometimes allows you to expand your services in surprising and delightful ways for your clients.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Kaleigh Moore
• Kaleigh Moore on Twitter
• Creative Class podcast
• Creative Class online course
• S03 Ep04 with Paul Jarvis
• Paul Jarvis

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 5 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Jessica Mehring. Jessica is a marketing communications expert and the CEO of Horizon Peak Consulting, where she helps IT and software companies increase enterprise sales with targeted conversion content. In this episode, we dive into the difference between an ideal client and a niche. We also talk about the emotions and the fears of this iterative process, and the importance of personal conversations and pattern recognition.

Out of college, Jessica started in a corporate marketing position. She did content management, wrote product copy and online merchandising content, banner ads, and essentially anything related to marketing. While corporate life wasn’t her long-term plan, she used her time to immerse herself in marketing. When she went out on her own, she found herself most comfortable working with corporate clients because that’s where she cut her teeth.

Even though Jessica had many established relationships and good clients, she came to a point where clients began to dry up and she was having to defend her pricing against freelancers on other digital platforms. At the prompting of a business coach, she decided to niche down in order to find her true ideal clients, and started making progress in her business.

Successful marketing and sales don’t just happen. To achieve faster customer growth, focus on shortening the sales cycle, and most importantly, build long-term customer relationships. You have to talk to people and put in the work of figuring out your ideal client and your business’ niche in order to succeed.

"In the end, I feel like you have to talk to people. It can’t just be a piece of paper. It can’t be a PowerPoint deck on your computer of your buyer persona. You have to actually talk to people to get to know who they are and what keeps them up at night.”

In this episode Jessica talks about:

• The difference between ideal customers and a niche.
• How she screens her clients and learns more about them.
• What to look for when the market is changing and how to adapt to that change.

Main Takeaways

• A niche is a genre of business in which you work. You might have a million ideal customers inside that niche, and those ideal customers might continue to change during the course of operation within your niche.
• You can’t rely on data alone. You have to investigate and actually talk to the clients you want to work with. Getting personal and having them open up about their organization will help you deepen the relationship and land them as a client.
• Use your instincts and keep an eye out for red flags that show the market is drifting in a different direction. You need to be aware of these issues in order to avoid problems in your business and finances.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Horizon Peak Consulting
• Jessica On Twitter
• Rapid Growth Academy

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 4 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Adrienne Barnes, a content strategist and audience researcher specializing in the B2B SaaS industry. 

Most clients Adrienne works with are terrified of bothering their customers. They hate to be calling and asking and bugging, but the reality is, people want to share their experience with a product. In fact, as we speak, Adrienne’s calendar is fully-booked with customer calls. As Adrienne puts it, thinking your customers don’t want to chat is a self-limiting belief – don’t succumb to it! 

In this episode, we bust other audience research myths, unpack how to own our audience by asking the right questions to the right people, and outline the number one question Adrienne asks to uncover golden nuggets and crack a marketing research conundrum. 

“A lot of it, if we’re just gonna get real, boils down to shame or embarrassment. People feel like their product didn’t meet the mark, their tool was wrong or bad or whatever the case may be. But that’s not the case at all. The case is, somehow, somewhere along the line, we attracted a poor fit. And I need to know why. What did we do, what was the message we were sending out, the signal we were sending out, that told these people that this was gonna  be the tool for them?” ~ @adriennenakohl

Main Takeaways

• Sometimes the only way to catch blind spots and stop customer complaints is to sit down and chat with someone who’s actually purchased your product.
• The first step is figuring out who to reach out to from your audience. Adrienne typically separates a customer base into three segments – the ideal customer, the average customer, and the unhappy customer. 
• Third-party researchers are more effective because they’re often better listeners. When you work at a company, you’re more inclined to offer up solutions or otherwise attempt to fix a customer complaint. Refusing to empathize shuts down a conversation almost immediately.
• A common research myth is that it takes endless time and money to understand an audience.
• In a conversation, ask customers why at least five times. This helps them dig deeper and often leads to golden nuggets about customer experience or ineffective messaging.

Links and Important Mentions

• Adrienne’s website
• Adrienne on Twitter
• Adrienne’s newsletter
• Jobs To Be Done
• Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
• Check out a bonus episode with Adrienne

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s co-host is Krista Rae. Krista is a WordPress developer who helps designers stay designing by turning their designs into fully functional websites. She’s a co-host of the Get Back to Design podcast, and creator of the Simply Profitable Designer Summit.

Krista’s defining moment came when she was in her 20’s. She applied for big job opportunity and got it. When she told her mom the good news, her mom said something she’ll never forget, “Anything you want to make happen, you do.” Krista’s taken that with her through everything she’s done, and it’s had a big impact on her mindset and success.

When Krista first started her business, she was targeting anyone and everyone. She quickly took a step back from design to focus on development, but was still trying to target everyone. After working with a coach, she realized that she most liked working with designers, and her niche was born. The journey wasn’t without it’s challenges but she was able to work through those bumps in the road to create a profitable business around helping designers who aren’t comfortable developing their own designs.

Figuring this out, has helped Krista nail her messaging and positioning, which has helped her stay booked months into the future, and eliminate the feast or famine cycle we’re all familiar with.

In this episode, we dive into some simple questions to ask yourself and your clients as you start figuring out who your ideal client is. We talk about the messaging and positioning exercises that Krista went through, how to get in front of your ideal client, and the bumps in the road while figuring it out.

"It was such a big step forward to being able to create a package that was based on something someone needed rather than trying to make something that would appeal to everybody, which didn’t work at all."

In this episode Krista talked about:

• Who Krista’s ideal client is and why.
• How she went all-in on her new web development business, and her strategies around positioning those skills.
• The pitfalls she faced with her newfound growth and how she overcame them.

Main Takeaways

• Curating your offerings allows you to increase your prices and narrow your client base. As soon as you start to hone your skills and get into your niche, you will see a transformation in your business and your revenue.
• Niching down brings more opportunity. The big changes can be scary, but if you build it one at a time and keep your “why” in front you, you’ll be able to manage any problems down the road.
• Using projects that didn’t go well, constant self-analysis, and capitalizing on the things that worked are the best ways to discover how to refine your offerings and use that positioning to grow your business.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Krista Rae Site
• Krista on Instagram
• Get Back To Design Podcast
• Krista on Twitter
• Simply Profitable Designer Summit

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 3 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Nathan Barry. Nathan is the founder of ConvertKit. Many of you know ConvertKit as an e-mail marketing platform, but there’s more to the story.

Nathan started his career as a blogger and creator before transitioning into building products. He also wrote several books and built a thriving solo business before launching ConvertKit.

Much of Nathan’s drive came from watching his parents struggle with money when he was growing up. He sees this as a defining moment in his life because he knew from the time he was 12 that he never wanted to have those same struggles.

He learned early on that making money wouldn’t just happen on its own. He had to work for it, and practice, and build the skill of making money. While working his way through college, he began seeing the internet as a way to do something he loved, and make money doing it.

Currently, Nathan is working on his hobby farm (and preparing for a new baby!), as well as continuing to grow ConvertKit and launching new features.

In this episode, we dive into identifying your ideal client, as well as some exercises that Nathan has used to figure out what types of projects and customers to work with. Also, Nathan goes into some questions you can ask that will help you create the life you want, as well as improve conversations throughout your business.

“If you’re earning a lot and I’m earning a little, then it’s because you’ve built skills over time. Just like if you’re incredible at playing this piano piece, it’s because you’ve practiced and you’ve built up to it over years.”

In this episode Nathan talks about:

• How he got into the world of digital marketing, and ultimately ConvertKit.
• Identifying your ideal client by knowing who they are not.
• How to define the ideal employee and the questions you need to ask.

Main Takeaways

• Sometimes it’s easier to figure out who you should exclude from your marketing efforts rather than include, as it allows the quality content to rise to the top. When you narrow it down by those criteria, it becomes apparent who you should focus on.
• Asking the right questions is critical. Ask questions of yourself and others that will help you figure out what your real goals are.
• Ask yourself: if this employee went to work for the competition tomorrow, how upset would I be? This is a great way to determine your ideal employee.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• ConvertKit
• The App Design Handbook
• Designing Web Applications
• Nathan on Twitter
• Authority by Nathan Barry
• Jason Fried on Twitter
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Flywheel by Jim Collins

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 2 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Jurgen Strauss. I’ve known Jurgen in several different online communities over the past several years, so it’s an absolute pleasure to finally bring him on the show and have a chat.

Jurgen is the founder and chief innovator of InnovaBiz, which helps coaches and consultants build professional credibility and connection with their ideal clients. He was the perfect candidate to have on the show given everything we’ve talked about and everyone we’ve talked to in the past.

Jurgen got his start in the chemical manufacturing industry. That’s where he cut his teeth in business. When he started coaching and consulting, he realized that just because there were a lot of things he could do, and clients he could take on, that didn’t mean it was the right thing for his business.

From that realization came his passion for understanding and identifying his ideal client. He found that every time he narrowed the focus of his business, the more his business grew. Through a series of bad clients and experiences, he was able to cultivate a variety of tools and strategies that enabled him to identify his true, ideal clients.

Today, Jurgen is still consulting, and is focused on his podcast and podcast training course.

"When you recognize a person that fits your ideal profile and you start to talk to them in their language, you start to talk about their aspirations, about their needs, about their frustrations, then you get this aha moment."

In this episode Jurgen talked about:

• The path that lead him to his business of coaching and consulting.
• How to use empathy maps, not just to discover and understand your ideal client, but with your current leads as well.
• How non-ideal clients can throw the wheels off your business, and everything you’re trying to accomplish.
• Why it’s so important to pay attention to the external factors and people that your ideal client is paying attention to.

Main Takeaways

• Empathy maps are a great way to figure out who is influencing your ideal client. These questions can help you dig deeper with existing clients as well, opening up a whole new world of services and opportunities.
• A non-ideal client can eat up a lot of your time because you’re either trying to learn what they need as you go, or they can be demanding. Both things waste your time and money and can ultimately lead to more referrals of the same type of client.
• The external factors that are influencing your clients are what will get them to say yes or no. You can use empathy maps to figure out these channels, and how you can leverage them to better serve your client.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• InnovaBiz
• InnovaBuzz Podcast
• InnovaBiz on Twitter
• Tales of Marketing Transformation
• Marketing Master Mini-class
• Jurgen on LinkedIn
• Ryan Deiss

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 1 of Season 7

Today’s co-host is Alex McClafferty. Alex is the co-founder of WP Curve and a CEO coach. Since selling WP Curve to GoDaddy a few years ago, he’s spent a lot of time traveling and spending time with friends and family. But like most entrepreneurs, he wasn’t about to sit still for very long. He started coaching CEOs, and runs a Consultant to CEO program.

Alex co-founded WP Curve, a WordPress support company, in 2013 and learned a lot about pricing right out of the gate. He had initially priced their service at $49/mo, and even at such a low price point, the company was profitable.

GoDaddy acquired WP Curve in 2016, and it couldn’t have been better timing for Alex. Through the lessons he learned with WP Curve, Alex was able to start coaching other CEOs on how to build a productized service much faster than he was able to.

Despite his success, Alex went through a dark period where he thought about ending his life. His defining moment came at a low point when he was sitting on a cliff and making a list of pros and cons - basically a should I stay or should I go scenario. At that moment, he realized that if he left he would leave an emotional mess behind him - so he started getting help and working through all of the things that were making him feel that way in the first place. He says that experience has made him an even better coach because it allows him to see through people, ask the right questions, and get to the heart of the issues at hand.

Today, Alex is traveling, a lot. He’s also spending time getting back to the things he used to enjoy doing before going down the business rabbit hole. He spends a lot of time at the beach and focuses on his health and wellness.

If you’ve ever dreamed of selling your startup and want some advice on how to get there, this episode is for you. I’m excited to share this conversation with you because Alex is one of the most grounded and genuine guys I know.

“The challenge that people run up against is they get into something and they don’t actually know what they want. Or they get to where they think they want to be and realize that’s not what they want.”

In this episode Alex talks about:

• Some background into WP Curve and some of the difficulties he ran into scaling the operation.
• The pricing forks in the road that many people run into.
• How his personal struggles put him on the path to where he is today.
• Why growth isn’t always what you’re looking for.

Main Takeaways

• Entrepreneurs often undercharge for their product or service.
• Products are often sold to the wrong market.
• Growth for growth sake shouldn’t always be the goal. You should be looking to build the team and resources that allow you to far exceed what you’re doing today, even if you’re making money year-over-year.
• Many people don’t know what they want when they start out, or think they know, only to change their mind. Ask yourself what you want your day-to-day life to look like instead of annual numbers, and work from there.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Alex McClafferty on Instagram
• Alex on Facebook
• WP Curve
• Alex’s Facebook Fundraiser
• Productize.co
• Consultant to CEO

Today’s co-host is Mor Cohen. Mor is a branding and web designer and teaches people how to build better client relationships. Mor is the founder of FlixFrame, a web design agency for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Mor started out as a graphic designer during the “IPO Golden Era”, so to speak, and did a lot of pitch decks for clients who were trying to raise venture capital. Early on in her career, she realized that her value didn’t come from the number of pages or slides she designed, but in her ability to solve a problem for her clients.

These early insights allowed her to avoid the trap of pricing her services by quantity, and base it instead on the value she was delivering. But that wasn’t the only pricing trap she ran into. Mor found herself in a rut early on because of “how” she talked about pricing. By delaying the budget conversation, she would end up wasting a lot of time in meetings and developing proposals, only to have clients walk away when they couldn’t afford her prices. That realization pushed her to learn more about her clients upfront, and talk about pricing before moving forward.

Mor firmly believes that we’re not just designers or developers or digital marketers, we have to understand business, marketing, social media, SEO, etc. You can’t just put yourself in a corner as one thing and ignore the rest. It doesn’t work like that.

This episode goes deep on how and why you should talk to your clients about pricing. We also get into how confidence plays a critical role in getting clients to trust you and pay your rates.

"This is not about the tools. This is about the whole answer we are giving people. Clients don’t really care what plugins you have on your site. All they need to know is where they want to go and what problems do they have on their end with their own clients that I can help them solve.” ~ Mor Cohen

In this episode Mor talked about:

• The “aha” moment that allowed her to pivot to where she is today.
• The reason and the why around pricing something that may not take a lot of time to complete.
• How clients perceive your pricing, and pitfalls to avoid.

Main Takeaways

• Clients don’t care about the tools, tech, or the education. They want a solution. Show them that you can provide that solution and you will be in business.
• Not addressing the issue of money (the budget for the project) just wastes everyone’s time.
• Pricing has nothing to do with how much time something requires, but the value it delivers and the years of experience wrapped up in that task.
• Clients are more willing to pay your price when you show that you have the confidence to complete the task and have expertise in the field. As soon as you start to lose confidence, your client will begin to micromanage and question your pricing.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Reach out to Mor
• Flix Frame
• The Web Design & Branding Community
• Design Class.io
• FlixFrame on Twitter

Today’s co-host is Jack McDade. Jack is the founder and creator of Statamic, a CMS that makes building a website better and easier to manage. Jack created Statamic in 2012, and though it started as a side project, it has grown into a platform, community, and profitable company. He’s currently working on version three of the software.

Jack started his career at an agency creating HTML templates and doing other work for large corporations. He slowly started to focus more on CMSs and WordPress development, before going out on his own almost a decade ago.

n this episode, we dive into his approach and strategy on pricing products versus services. We talk about Jack’s pricing mistakes, the pricing parity, and much more around productizing your services.

Jack is also a family man, and we talk about how becoming a father as affected him and his career.

"If you can speak to exactly the person you’re trying to reach, it will give you a totally different experience compared to a broad net where you’re trying to be something to everybody." ~Jack McDade

In this episode Jack talked about:

• How he got started in digital products and his path to Statamic.
• His strategy for pricing products versus services.
• The mistakes he made pricing Statamic and how he dealt with the fallout.

Main Takeaways

• Don’t just copy what big tech companies are doing. Figure out how to speak directly to the customers that you have the answers for.
• How your customers use the product and how you price your product need to be aligned. If not, customers will be incentivized to circumvent your product, or try to spend less money on it.
• If you’re selling a digital product, be prepared to deal with customers in other parts of the world. You need to have a plan for how you will price your product for regions of the world with lower average incomes.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Jack McDade’s Website
• @jackmcdade
• Statamic

Today’s co-host is Brian Casel. Brian is a designer and full-stack developer, as well as the founder of ProcessKit and Audience Ops. While Brian started as a freelance designer, he has transitioned into a business owner by productizing his own services.

Brian is the founder of multiple productized service businesses, and in recent years has built a few products as well. Rather than ditch all his clients at once, Brian has been intentional about the process. He worked with his best clients to figure out what parts of his business could be transitioned into products, and then built those products on the side until they became self-sustainable.

Over the course of his career, Brian has worked with lots different kinds of clients. He was a generalist for many years. Once he was established, he realized he needed to focus on a specific type of customer, and specific solutions to their problems, rather than doing anything and everything.

During the last couple of years, Brian has also branched out into products (like ProcessKit) and has ideas for more in the future.

In this episode, we dive into how to transition from generalist services to productized services, and find your first client. We talk about pricing strategies during that transition and Brian shares some unexpected and counterintuitive ideas.

“At the end of the day, even though it might feel like your clients are buying you, they’re really buying the end result.” ~ Brian Casel

In this episode Brian talks about:

• His background and how he got into building productized service businesses.
• His strategies around moving into a productized business and how that can affect your other business.
• How he figured out his pricing between all the different markets he was serving.

Main Takeaways

• When moving into a productized business, don’t ditch your existing clients. Rather, make moves inside your current business to start working with your ideal clients.
• Pricing is a bit of a gut feeling mixed with some testing to see if the market will bear your prices. The busier you become, the more selective you can become toward higher margin projects. You also need to price so that your service is a good value for your target customer.
• Always start your productized services where you already have inroads. Breaking into a new market, looking for customers, and establishing yourself as an authority will be easier if you’re operating inside a market you know.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Brian’s Website
• @CasJam
• ProcessKit
• Audience Ops
• Sunrise KPI

Today’s co-host is April Dunford, a positioning consultant and entrepreneur who literally wrote the book on positioning. She’s also an in-demand keynote speaker. While her book, Obviously Awesome, refers to products, most of it can be applied to services, as well — something April talks about in today’s show. She also shares how her loose position affected her trajectory when she first became a consultant.

If you’ve ever searched online for information about positioning your business, you know there is a ton of material available. But what’s often missing are the actionable items and exercises you need to work through in order to actually do it effectively. April noticed this gap in the market and created tools and processes to help businesses better position themselves.

April’s life has turned out to be more free-form than she ever though it would. She received her degree in systems design engineering and lucked into a job at a startup right out of school. She was eventually hired as a technology evangelist, where she learned that she was great at engaging with people and giving presentations. She points to that moment as a turning point in her career.

Currently, April can be found on her book tour and speaking at conferences (more than usual). She’s using the book events and publicity from the book as an interesting experiment in growing leads, since up to this point her business has been mostly referral-based.

In this episode, April and I dive into what makes some businesses fail and others succeed. We also discuss the principles and science behind positioning (like how people’s brains react to seeing something new).

"There’s a good chunk of art involved in positioning, but there’s a good chunk of science here, too. And everyone was just ignoring it on purpose because they didn’t want there to be any science in it." ~ April Dunford

In this episode April talks about:

• What positioning is, why it’s important in all aspects of marketing, and what she noticed was missing.
• The science of positioning and how you can use it to your advantage.
• Why it’s slightly harder to position services versus products.

Main Takeaways

• Positioning is the foundation of your marketing. A certain set of criteria pointed at a certain group of people about why you’re the best in the world is the building block for all of your marketing.
• Positioning is often a science based on groups of people and their given assumptions about certain markets. You can use people’s assumptions about these markets (competitors, costs, etc.) to differentiate yourself and give yourself an in.
• Product positioning is generally easier than services because the differences are more obvious. Figuring out how and why you’re different and which differences people really care about is the best strategy when positioning your service.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• April Dunford Website
• April on Twitter
• April on LinkedIn
• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It
• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

Today’s co-host is Joel Klettke. Joel is a conversion copywriter and the co-founder of Case Study Buddy. Joel is a sought-after consultant, having worked with companies like Hubspot and WP Engine, among others. Today, Joel is talking with us about his strategies around conversion copywriting.

Joel firmly believes that copywriting is 10 percent writing and 90 percent research. To that end, when he’s working with clients, he engages with their customers in many different ways to learn all he can about them. Doing comprehensive research is the foundation for good conversion copywriting.

Being a relatively new dad has shaped how Joel views the world and his work. Watching his son be curious about everything, and look at things with wonder has reignited his own curiosity and reopened him to ideas in his own work.

Joel is still focused on conversion copywriting, but he’s starting to pull back a bit and dive into Case Study Buddy more and more. He sees it as a blue ocean opportunity and is excited to help clients create this valuable asset for their own companies.

In this episode, we talk about what conversion copywriting is, and what it’s not. We also talk about the five things we try to understand about our customers and how to make that information work for you. We discuss how to interview your customers for a case study, and then use the case studies in all stages of your business to position the value of your services.

“I think a lot of us just zero in on doing the work. And I think there’s a time for that. But I think another reason people don’t act is fear. Fear that they’ll say the wrong thing, fear that they don’t know how to do it."

In this episode Joel talked about:

• What conversion copywriting really is.
• The five key elements of great conversion copywriting.
• Why case studies are your best friend for landing new clients.

Main Takeaways

• Conversion copy understands the client so well that it can preempt anxieties and pain points, so you can know what to say and how to say it.
• The five elements you need to solve for are: purchase triggers, pain points, anxieties, priorities, and awareness. All successful conversion copy answers these questions.
• Case studies are the only piece of content that you can use at every stage of dealing with a client. Whether it’s right away or further into the process, you can use these examples to up sell, close a deal, or simply provide valuable information.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Case Study Buddy
• Case Study Free Guide
• Joel on LinkedIn
• Joel on Twitter

Today’s co-host is Hillary Weiss. Hillary is a concept development consultant, speaker, copywriter, and founder of Statement Piece Studio.

Hillary is a fellow New Yorker and she’s always had such a big personality that she felt she was born to be an entrepreneur. She’s passionate about consulting because she loves sitting down with other creative entrepreneurs to help them dig out the exact thing that differentiates them in the market.

Hillary has worked in many different mediums, including having a popular YouTube show. She likes to keep things fun and interesting while still having serious discussions about business, pricing, and development. She’s now in the space of entrepreneur education and finds people get the most value, not when they’re force fed information, but rather when they’re forced to take action and get their hands dirty.

In this episode, we dive into how to create a consulting service and price it so that you’re in demand. We talk about how to lean on your strengths and identify not just the client, but the personality of the client, and how to listen to what people are repeatedly asking for.

We also get into how Hillary chose the prices she did when she started to transition from implementation into consulting. I’m confident you are going to take away a lot from this conversation with Hillary.

"What I think is a sign of a success in any kind of content is that people don’t necessarily have to be prompted to go back and check it. They’re like, oh, I haven’t seen this in a while. Let me go back and check it out."

In this episode Hillary talked about:

• Her strategies and techniques for working with clients.
• How she prices so that the client understands the value that they are getting from her consultation.
• Her business strategies that differentiate her from other “online consultants”.

Main Takeaways

• To have a personal brand or to be an outstanding entrepreneur, you need to dig down deep, figure out what fills you with energy, and what makes you unique. These will put you on the path to success.
• You can start out undervaluing your product to get people through the door, find out more about your ideal clients, and build a strategy. Then when you have those data points, raise your rates and go after high-ticket clients.
• Being available, following up, and responding personally to clients, even if they’re takeaways aren’t your responsibility, is a big differentiator and will bring clients back.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Hillary Weiss Website
• Hillary Weiss Signup
• Hillary on Twitter
• Hillary on Instagram
• HamYaw on YouTube

Today’s co-host is Eric Siu, CEO of Clickflow and digital advertising agency Single Grain. Eric’s recent book, Leveling Up: How to Master the Game of Life, is all about stacking your “power-ups” to achieve something greater.

Eric learned many life lessons from poker – how to guard your emotions when the waves get rocky, understanding where to pick your bets, and never playing beyond your means. 

After years of developing a good eye and a clear mind, Eric was leading marketing at a startup when, pressed with a make-or-break moment, he made the right bet and led his company straight to success. Now Eric runs two businesses and uses the power of focus and habitual growth to continue compounding his wins.

In this episode, Eric talks about how maintaining simple habits can transform your business, the power of giving back, and why everyone should steal from time to time. 

“I talk about 15 power-ups in the book, but there’s actually a lot more than that in life. Power-ups can be habits, they could be mental models, and there’s a lot of tools. And so the goal in life, one of the things that’s going to help you grow and level-up to your highest potential, is to just go around collecting things and learning and just getting better and better. Getting that one percent better every single day. And part of that involves getting different power-ups.” ~ @ericosiu

Main Takeaways

• You can’t be successful trying to do everything all at once. The more you can focus on reaching one destination, the more likely you are to reach it. 
• Stack great habits on top of one another to “win” the game of life and outperform your competitors. 
• Even the greats took inspiration from others. “Stealing” a great idea and making it your own will help you move the needle. 
• Rather than generating leads through cold calls, provide as much free value as you can for others. Find out what people want and give it to them! 

Links and Important Mentions

• Eric on Twitter
• Leveling Up: How to Master the Game of Life 
• Single Grain
• Clickflow
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
• Blizzard
• Check out a bonus episode with Eric

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Part of his hands-on training as a business owner was figuring out how to sell something people didn’t want to buy. In this episode, we dive into the mindset of pricing and how powerful that can be, not just for yourself but for your client as well. We also talk about the importance of understanding your clients and the value you provide to them.

Vito stresses the importance of never assuming that what you’re selling is what your clients ultimately want. He also breaks down how you see your ultimate goal, and how to use that information to price your services and products.

"Pricing is a mindset, right? And if you believe that it’s worth something, go ahead and ask for it." ~ Vito Peleg

In this episode Vito talked about:

• How his past as a musician lead him to where he is today.
• Why a proper mindset effects how much you will charge, how much you can earn, and if you will land clients.
• How to frame your financial goals in a way that makes them easy to break down and accomplish.

Main Takeaways

• What you believe you are worth is what people will pay you. Your mindset will determine if people will pay you what you want to be making.
• Pricing should be contingent on the value you are providing to your client, not just an arbitrary number. Don’t be afraid to raise your rate for a company that values what you’re giving them.
• Setting financial goals is simple if you frame your end goal as a per client cost (e.g. 10 one million dollar clients is $10,000,000. But those clients then need the appropriate amount of your time. More money is more time given to them).

Important Mentions in this Episode

• WPFeedback
• WPFeedback Community
• @wpfeedback
• Vito On LinkedIn

Today’s guest is David Kilkelly. David is the co-founder of BlinkBack, a creative video production studio that specializes in helping clients create marketing campaigns with video.

David started his career as a university video instructor, and he’s made his way back to education by helping entrepreneurs create content that amplifies their business and message across the web. It’s not easy to leave behind a consistent salary and venture out on your own. But that’s exactly what David did. And it’s a decision he points to as a defining moment in his 30-year career.

Like every entrepreneur, David has constantly refined his approach to pricing. His philosophy has always been to charge as much as necessary to make it worth his time. But following through and executing on this model can be incredibly hard, especially as he’s grown and matured as a creator and business owner.

David has worn many hats in his career, but these days he’s focused on helping entrepreneurs create content for platforms such as LinkedIn. He’s seen a shift in the way we do business online, and believes that video can be extremely useful in building brand loyalty and trust, as well as amplifying the personality of your business.

In this episode, we dive into why video is still on an upward trend, especially on platforms like LinkedIn. We also discuss how video allows you to super charge the connection you have with potential clients, and why pricing is more straightforward and simple that you might think.

"Changing isn’t really difficult when you run your own thing. You can switch and flip and turn and respond to the market. If one thing is not working, you can do something else." ~ David Kilkelly

In this episode David talks about:

• Why video is still poised to be the best medium for connecting with clients in the future.
• How David determines his pricing and how he communicates those prices to his clients.
• Why he is betting on LinkedIn as his social media channel of choice, and how video plays into the success of the platform.

Main Takeaways

• Newer generations are growing up with video everywhere, so it’s a natural medium to interact with. This trend will only continue to grow as video becomes more and more the medium of choice.
• With video, the behind-the-scenes and planning work can take as long as the filming and editing. Making sure your clients are informed about everything that goes into the service you are providing, is a good way to negotiate.
• B2B professionals are the main users of LinkedIn, and it’s far less saturated and “noisy” than Facebook. Your video content can have a much larger impact there than anywhere else.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• BlinkBack LinkedIn Course
• YouPreneur
• BlinkBack on Twitter
• David Kilkelly on LinkedIn

Today’s guest is Chris Do. Chris is a teacher, consultant, designer, and entrepreneur. He’s also the founder of Blind, one of the longest running, single-owner design agencies. Chris also founded The Futur, an education platform with more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers.

Chris started out in advertising, but eventually found his way to design. With Blind, he’s made a career out of helping clients tell better stories through award-winning design. But Chris would be the first one to tell you that craft alone isn’t enough. A key component of pricing — and success in general — is understanding business and marketing, and how to speak to a client’s bottom line.

In today’s episode, Chris talks about how to develop client relationships with research, how to understand what they really need, and how that knowledge can inform your pricing and increase your profits.

"Price the client and not the job." ~ Chris Do

In this episode Chris talked about:

• The difference between cost, price and value.
• How to align your client’s goals with your pricing.
• How to build the kind of client relationships that will support your pricing.

Main Takeaways

• Most of the time, clients come up with arbitrary numbers. There is room for negotiation. Don’t be afraid to stand firm on your pricing.
• Your price is a reflection of who you are. If you want to increase your pricing, you have to increase the value you bring to the table.
• Always be present. You must be able to recognize the moments in life that could be big opportunities.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Blind
• Blind on Facebook
• Chris’ Twitter
• Chris’ Instagram
• Chris’ YouTube
• The Futur
• One Plus One Equals Three: A Masterclass in Creative Thinking by Dave Trott

Today’s guest is Tom Morkes. Tom is an author, consultant, coach, and publisher. He’s written several books, including The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing. He’s worked with successful entrepreneurs, launched authors who have landed on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Best Seller lists, and has done more than a dozen product launches that have generated more than $100,000 in sales in their first 30 days.

While Tom started his career in the military, he always knew he wanted to follow more artistic pursuits at some point in his life. So after five years of service, he transitioned to being an entrepreneur. Starting a business provided him with the ability to make something out of nothing.

While he’s done many different things, he’s currently transitioning away from implementation toward consulting.

In today’s episode, Tom talks about “pay what you want” pricing, and shares the best way to start experimenting with your pricing, other places this model works, and how to align it properly with your goals and desired outcomes. We also chat the actual results he’s seen from selling his own products with this pricing model.

You can learn more about Tom, his services, books, and courses, at his website TomMorkes.com.

"I think pay what you want is a fantastic way to grow your list, instead of just having a free lead magnet." ~ Tom Morkes

In this episode Tom talked about:

• How his military career segued into where he is today.
• Who his clients are, and how he helps them get to where they want to be.
• How you can use a “pay what you want” pricing models to increase your sales and traffic, regardless of industry.

Main Takeaways

• It’s ok if it takes some time to start selling your product. It might not take off instantly. You’ll have to work to gain traction.
• People will pay for things, even if you offer them for free.
• Eliminate your product’s barriers to entry, if possible. Even asking for $1 is a barrier to entry, and getting rid of it could increase results.
• Try testing out “pay what you want” pricing on a special day with a low-risk, low-margin product.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Tom Morkes
• The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing
• Tom Morkes on Twitter
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Smart Passive Income Podcast
• Patreon

Today’s guest is Brendan Hufford. Brendan is a dad, husband, and entrepreneur, and has spent many years trying different things. With a background in education, he spent a decade as a teacher. On the side, he did product reviews for his website and blogs. Somewhere in there he also started a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu company, called OK! Kimonos, which he later sold.

Brendan eventually realized he wasn’t headed in a direction he wanted to go. So he quit his job, sold his businesses, and began devoting more time to his newfound passion: SEO.

He started doing freelance work and landed a day job as an SEO Director at Clique Studios. Through his websites, podcasts, YouTube channels and social media, Brendan has chronicled much of his journey, including his path into the world of SEO.

One thing is certain, Brendan has done it all (multiple times!), and has a lot of insight about entrepreneurship, content creation, and how to create a life worth living.

In this episode, Brendan talks specifically about SEO, pricing, client relationships, and what he’s learned along the way that has had the biggest impact.

You can learn more about Brendan, his services, projects and courses, at his website BrendanHufford.com.

“How do I price so I can get the work done, have enough margin for me, but also bring it back? I don’t want the most money out of them — I want as little money as possible so that the ROI is much bigger.” ~ Brendan Hufford

In this episode Brendan talked about:

• How to price your services
• How to find information with the highest impact
• How to see red flags and avoid stressful client relationships

Full Show Notes and more resources 

Main Takeaways

• When using value-based pricing, it’s important to look for techniques that require less time but produce more results overall. Getting rich isn’t the goal, but rather, increasing ROI through word of mouth, spread by happy clients.
• Joining SEO communities is a great way to find mentors and helpful information from industry professionals and newcomers alike. But make sure to interact and engage with what you’re learning.
• Finding clients that are a good fit can’t be overstated. Use a system to qualify new potential clients. No amount of money can make up for the constant stress that comes from incompatible client relationships.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Brendan on Youtube
• ThinkTank
• Brendan on Instagram
• 100 Days of SEO
• Brendan’s Podcast - Entrepreneurs and Coffee
• Brendan on Twitter
• Brendan’s Website

Today’s guest is Adam Pierno. Adam is a speaker, author, and marketing strategist who has built a career out of helping people simplify their approach to marketing. He’s most passionate about connecting people to help them accomplish their goals.

Born out of an interest in how people think and make decisions, Adam spends a lot of time thinking about consumer culture and human behavior from both personal and commercial perspectives.

Adam began his career as an art director, and the process of writing creative briefs immediately piqued his interest in how people think. He enjoyed writing the creative briefs and getting to the primary insights of how to truly make a connection. From there, he began reading psychology books and papers, and observing what makes people tick and motivates them.

Adam spends a considerable amount of time trying to help people understand the topics he’s covered in his books. You can find Adam at various speaking engagements throughout the year and listen to his podcast, The Strategy Inside Everything.

"The fear of leaving money on the table is real, but saying no comes with the confidence of knowing that you’ve built a business and you’re doing things right. You’re good enough at what you’re doing to pass on it because something else will come through the door"

In this episode Adam talked about:

• Why it’s important to think about human behavior and how it can drive your business forward.
• Building and understanding customer personas.
• Saying no with confidence.

Main Takeaways

• At a basic level, marketing is figuring out the habit of the person that you’re trying to reach and what drives them as it relates to your brand or product.
• Build customer personas early on. Write out what your customer looks like and what makes them different. Put a lot of thought into this exercise.
• Send out surveys to better understand your customer’s pain points and who they are. It can lead to some pretty big results. But even without drastic changes, that kind of feedback is invaluable.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Specific: How brands draw inspiration from a world that doesn’t want any more by Adam Pierno
• Under Think It by Adam Pierno
• The Strategy Inside Everything Podcast
• Adam on Twitter
• Adam’s Website

Today’s guest is Josh Garofalo. Josh is a SaaS copywriter and the founder of Sway Copy. If you search Google for “SaaS copywriter”, Josh will show up at the top of the list because he’s built a reputation as being the best. He’s worked with companies such as Hubspot, HotJar, and AWeber to get them more leads and sales.

Josh focuses on customer research, positioning. and copywriting. For developers and designers and consultants like you and me, he’s a fierce supporter of choosing a niche and owning it.

He first got into his niche somewhat by accident when he was working at a startup in 2015. He was doing everything related to marketing and didn’t even realize that copywriting was a specific task from which he could make a living.

Once he stumbled upon the Copy Hackers website, he realized he could focus on one this one piece of the marketing puzzle, and turn it into a career. He started his website on the side and never looked back.

Today, Josh and I talk about how he’s flipped marketing on its head, and has zero strategy other than focusing in on his ideal client when they are about to buy.

"Choosing a niche is not a death sentence. It’s not something you have to do forever and the benefit is that as soon as you establish yourself as an expert in one space, it’s very easy to start moving into adjacent spaces."

In this episode Josh talked about:

• How he turned basic networking events and simple conversation into profitable clients.
• Why you don’t need to “overthink” and complicate your SEO game.
• How to niche down, flip your marketing strategy, and be confident in your positioning and process.

Main Takeaways

• People don’t pay a premium for generalists. Once you become a specialist, people will gladly pay you a higher price because you have the knowledge they want.
• Start by becoming an expert before you do a lot of marketing. This way you have inherent trust built with your potential clients and they won’t waste time questioning your authority on the subject.
• When you become an authority, the people that come to you are already sold on your service. All you need to do is ask questions, research their product, and consult like you’re already part of the team.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Sway Copy
• Sway on Twitter
• Copy Hackers
• Hubspot
• Hotjar
• AWeber

Stay in touch

• Full show notes
• Ask Rezzz Podcast
• Feast
• Follow Jason on Twitter
• Subscribe to the newsletter

Today’s guest is Mike Killen. Mike helps marketers and service-based businesses build marketing funnels and get better at sales. Mike has also written a book called From Single to Scale.

Mike has been in the trenches, successfully building systems and automations and knows what he’s talking about. He’s super passionate about helping people create better funnels and drive more sales.

In this episode, we dive into what a sales funnel is and why it has a bad rap. We also talk about why it’s important to do everything manually, before thinking about automation. Throughout the episode, we touch on the framework behind doing discovery calls and how to ask the tough questions, including the big one (budgets!) in a way that gets your the answers you need.

In this episode Mike talks about:

• The real definition of a funnel and why it sometimes gets a bad reputation.
• What you’re probably doing wrong when it comes to discovery calls.
• Why he’s made a mission out of getting sales training into the hands of children and schools.

Main Takeaways

• Sales funnels don’t create customers out of thin air, they just make your current customer attraction method better.
• You can’t automate something that you’re not already doing manually — automation only improves current tactics.
• Don’t start selling right away on a discovery call. Ask a lot of questions and get a feel for the business you’ll be working with instead of trying to sell them.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Sell Your Service
• From Single to Scale
• Sell Your Service YouTube
• Mike on Twitter

Stay in touch

• Full show notes
• Ask Rezzz Podcast
• Feast
• Follow Jason on Twitter
• Subscribe to the newsletter

Today’s guest is Ilise Benun. Ilise is the founder of Marketing Mentor, an agency that helps creative solopreneurs, consultants and owners of small creative businesses find the right clients and avoid the feast or famine cycle.

Ilise started her career in New York, helping people in her network become more organized. She quickly found that disorganization was major part of what kept people from marketing and self-promotion, and she saw an opportunity. Ilise has written seven books, hosts two podcasts, and is adjunct faculty at Maryland Institute College of Art.

In this episode, we dive into how to get clients with bigger budgets as well as how creative professionals, web developers, and web designers can be great at the business side of things.

In this episode Ilise talks about:

• How she got started in the marketing world and helping creative freelancers get organized and self-promote.
• How to avoid common marketing pitfalls, and do marketing the right way.
• How social media fits within your marketing for your business and what you can be doing differently.

Main Takeaways

• Once you can identify ideal clients or ideal markets, then it becomes very clear how to reach them.
• A LinkedIn profile and smart marketing website (speaking to the clients needs) will enable you to build your marketing foundation.
• The expectation of social media is that it’s easy to bring business in. It’s an excellent tool, but you need to asses its value appropriately and use it as such.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Marketing Mentor
• Simplest Marketing Planner

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Today’s guest is Matt Johnson. Matt is founder of Pursuing Results, a zero-hassle podcast system to break into new markets, build strategic relationships, and create authority.

Matt started out in the real estate space and found a great deal of success owning and dominating a specific niche market through podcasting. As a result, he built an agency to help other businesses own and dominate their niche through similar methods.

His agency started as a loose group of freelancers. But, eventually he realized he needed to formalize his agency and identify his ideal customer. Being able to niche down was an important part of gaining traction and focusing his business.

The defining moment in Matt’s journey so far was choosing to move to San Diego for a job opportunity. He directly credits that move, even though he didn’t stay for long, with everything he was able to do afterward with his own business.

Today, Matt is working on transitioning to the next phase of his business by capping the agency work and only taking on a certain number of one-and-done clients. To do this, he’s focusing on building courses and other scalable services.

In this episode, we dive into what business owners without a podcast struggle with most when they start to think about doing one.

In this episode Matt talked about:

• The ROI of podcasting and how you can capitalize on it.
• The biggest benefit to being a guest on a podcast for your business and the biggest reason why most businesses don’t do it.
• How Matt’s personality has allowed him to shape the direction of his career.

Main Takeaways

• Fear and mental roadblocks are generally the number one thing keeping people from starting a podcast.
• Having guests on or being a guest on another podcast is critical to building deep relationships and earning referrals that move your business forward.
• Podcasting is working whether you think it is or not. It’s out there, people are listening and it is doing it’s job even if you might not understand it completely.
• Never chase the numbers. Just because your podcast is “big” doesn’t mean that you are maximizing your marketing or connecting with your audience. Dominate your niche instead and become an authority.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Podcast Pitch Assistant
• Podcast Guest Training
• Matt Johnson on Instagram
• The Business of Expertise by David Baker

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• Full show notes
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Today’s co-host is Tom Hirst, a longtime freelancer, WordPress developer, mentor, author, and creator. Tom breaks down his outlook on SEO and why landing pages are your best weapon for lead generation. 

Like most entrepreneurs, Tom realized at a young age that working for someone else would never fulfill him. Luckily he’s found success as a full-time freelancer and has a few lessons to share about his path to financial freedom. He credits his accomplishments to a focus on business rather than a blind love for coding. And he reminds us that experimentation is key to creating a website that works. 

In this episode, Tom talks about his process for driving new and qualified leads, how to discover killer keywords, what most people miss when building a great website, and why there’s more to success than SEO.

“What you’ve got to think is, the person, the prospect, the lead, are coming in and seeing that page, they’re landing on that page, and a lot of the time, they’re not really going off that page. So if you’ve got one page with one specific focus, it doesn’t really matter what the other pages look like, per se.” ~ @tom_hirst

Main Takeaways

• A service-specific landing page is the key to generating leads, and many freelancers miss that when caught up in SEO technicalities. SEO is only one piece of the discovery puzzle. 
• When you pivot, there’s no need to create an entirely new website. Just take your existing site and build out a new landing page that calls out the benefits of your new service. 
• There’s no exact science to discovering great keywords. Sometimes you just have to experiment with different landing pages that are optimized for different content and keywords. 
• Always put contact information on the same page as trust signals. This creates a frictionless experience for users. In other words, it doesn’t leave them searching for ways to find you. 
• You have to focus on the business behind your craft to get ahead. 

Links and Important Mentions

• Tom on Twitter
• Tom’s website 
• Tom’s resources
• Tom’s mentorship program
• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Gatsby
• Check out a bonus episode with Tom

Stay in Touch

• Feast Club
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Today’s guest is Blair Enns. Blair is the founder and CEO of Win Without Pitching, a sales training organization for creative professionals. Blair is also the author of two books, The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity.

While most of Blair’s work is centered around sales and teaching people how to sell, he’s an expert in the specific difficulties creative people have with selling.

A defining moment in Blair’s life was when he left the city and moved his young family to a remote mountain village in British Columbia — a nine-hour drive from Vancouver. He left his job at a design firm and started the initial iteration of Win Without Pitching.

Blair pushes himself to lead by example, following the same principles he talks about in his books, and in his consulting practice. He understands that he has a responsibility to sell to his clients the way he would want them to sell to him.

Blair is currently working on a second edition of Pricing Creativity, and has also started working on several new book projects.

"Curiosity is the most valuable asset when it comes to consultative selling or value based pricing. Let go of any presuppositions and just be curious.”

In this episode Blair talked about:

• How removing distractions from his life enabled him to build his business the way he wanted to.
• Pricing on value, and how to think about pricing in general.
• Why you have to master the conversation before you can master selling.

Main Takeaways

• It’s hard to have a value conversation with a prospective client if you don’t think in terms of value yourself.
• Go into conversations with clients without any presuppositions about what their problems are, what the solution might be, or what the cost of the solution might be.
• Creatives have to learn how to have conversations about value, and improve their conversational skills so they can get out of the “presentation business”.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Win Without Pitching
• The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
• Pricing Creativity
• Blair Enns on Twitter
• Blair Enns on LinkedIn

Stay in touch

• Full show notes
• Ask Rezzz Podcast
• Feast
• Follow Jason on Twitter
• Subscribe to the newsletter