
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
Susan Boles

1 Creator

1 Creator

1 Listener
1 Comment
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Four-Hour Work Year? The Hidden Power of Licensing Your Services
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
04/22/25 • 41 min
Tired of hitting a wall with your client-based business? You don’t have to build a course or start a membership to scale.
In this episode of Calm is the New KPI, host Susan Boles talks with Janet Alexandersson—an international licensing lawyer and founder of Piggy Bank Legal—about how licensing can become a powerful, margin-creating revenue stream for service-based business owners.
If you've ever wondered how to productize your existing client work without burning out or shifting your entire business model, this episode is your permission slip. Janet walks us through the practical, strategic, and protective aspects of licensing, and shares how this often-overlooked business lever can change how you earn, design, and rest.
What You’ll Learn
- What licensing actually is—and why it's not just for tech or big corporations
- The step-by-step process to start licensing your existing IP
- Common pitfalls to avoid in licensing deals (and how to protect yourself)
- Why pricing should reflect their value, not yours
- How licensing can support a hybrid model with clients and passive income
Learn More About Janet
Learn More About Susan
- Beyond Margins
- (00:00) - Introduction: The Struggles of High-Touch Client Work
- (01:21) - Exploring a New Revenue Stream: Licensing
- (02:16) - Understanding Licensing with Janet Alexander
- (05:35) - The Licensing Process: Step-by-Step
- (10:41) - Protecting Your Intellectual Property
- (20:21) - Real-World Licensing Examples
- (39:12) - Final Thoughts on Licensing and Business Design
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Introducing Break the Ceiling
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
08/29/19 • 3 min
Introducing Break the Ceiling launching early September 2019.
For more information, visit https://scalespark.co/podcast
- Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
- Twitter @ScaleSpark
- LinkedIn @thesusanboles

Anti-Oppressive Marketing & Reducing Urgency with Natalia Sanyal
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
12/17/24 • 51 min
How do you reduce urgency in a world where urgency is so deeply embedded? How do you market yourself and your work in a way that is anti-oppressive?
We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on reudcing urgency and techniques for anti-oppressive marketing.
We're joined by Natalia Sanyal, an anti-oppressive copywriter and brand messaging strategist. She’s worked with billion-dollar businesses like Apple and Lululemon, New York Times bestselling authors like Layla Saad & Deepak Chopra, and award-winning marketing agencies. Now, she teaches high-integrity personal brands to use marketing as a force for good so they can sell better and harm less.
On this episode, we learn some techniques to reduce urgency in our work, align actions with values to foster a calmer atmosphere for you, your team, and your business.
Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:
- How can you move away from the default urgency-driven model?
- How can you reduce client emergencies and create more flexibility?
- What are the real-world applications of aligning business actions with values?
- How does embracing vulnerability play into the human aspects of entrepreneurship?
Learn more about Natalia Sanyal
Learn more about me, Susan Boles:
We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
- (00:00) - Introduction to Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
- (00:55) - The Elements of a Calm Business
- (01:40) - Reducing Urgency in Business
- (03:03) - Anti-Oppressive Marketing with Natalia Sanal
- (24:51) - Embracing Anti-Oppressive Marketing
- (26:20) - Taking the Leap: Transitioning to Value-Aligned Clients
- (31:19) - Deconstructing Urgency in Business
- (38:10) - Building a Calmer, Sustainable Business
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Using Efficient Systems to Create Calm with Amelia Hruby
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
11/19/24 • 46 min
Why are efficient systems so essential for building a calmer business? And how do you go about finding the right systems and processes for yourself?
We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on my favorite aspect of my CALMER framework -- efficient systems. We dive into the importance of understanding our own processes before building systems, and then explore some of the many ways our individual systems can look.
We're joined by Amelia Hruby, a writer, educator, and podcaster with a PhD in philosophy. She is the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives. And sheʼs the host of Off the Grid, a podcast about leaving social media without losing all your clients.
On this episode, we learn how to create systems that work fo rus, our teams, and our clients. We also learn what the transition from work without efficient systems to efficient systems can look like, and how it all fits into creating a calmer business for everyone involved.
Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:
- How do you create autonomy through systems?
- What impact can an efficient system have on business and team members?
- How can you operate through a lens of care using systems?
- Why do you need to start with a process before building systems?
Learn more about Amelia Hruby
Learn more about me, Susan Boles:
We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
- (00:00) - Introduction to Building a Calmer Business
- (00:51) - The Importance of Efficient Systems
- (02:40) - Guest Introduction: Amelia Ruby
- (04:45) - Challenges Before Implementing Systems
- (17:24) - Developing and Implementing the System
- (30:36) - Impact and Benefits of the New System
- (43:21) - Final Thoughts and Encouragement
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Using Software to Scale with ScaleSpark Founder, Susan Boles
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
11/05/19 • 39 min
In this special podcast episode, the shoe is on the other foot - Susan herself is on the receiving end of the interview. And she’s talking to Tara McMullin (who you might remember from the first ever Break the Ceiling episode.)
Bottlenecks in a business workflow process and complicated workflows can combine to create huge business growth headaches, not to mention potentially impacting your quality of work, resulting in poor customer satisfaction, or worse, letting things slip through the gaps.
So Susan wanted to share this episode (first aired on Tara’s podcast, What Works) because she wants to discuss her experience of default decisions in software and technology.
“When you're starting out, you don't know what you don't know.”
In this episode, Susan and Tara talk about why and when you should review your software tools, and how you can really use software to help automate your operations and address some operational capacity issues. They also talk about the challenging work of implementing new software and how to make the change a little bit easier and more effective.
So tune in to hear all that and more.
On today’s podcast:
- What Susan typically finds is standing between her clients and tripling their revenue
- The basis for business default decisions
- Why hiring more people won’t fix an operational capacity problem
- Mistakes small business owners make when they try to use software to expand their capacity
- Why software can be another bottleneck to workflow process rather than an aid
- The audit process Susan carries out for each individual business to figure out what software could help them
- How Susan makes software recommendations for each business
- How to implement a new software system painlessly
- Common mindset problems business owners face when switching software
Links:
- Walk through of how to do a software audit
- What Works podcast
- Zapier - automation platform that connects SAAS tools
- Xero - accounting tool
- Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
- Twitter @ScaleSpark
- LinkedIn @thesusanboles
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Breaking the Default Model: Building a Badass Business with Badass Your Brand Founder, Pia Silva
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
10/22/19 • 44 min
Are you looking to break the mold with your business model? Are you one of those business people that make very deliberate decisions and knows that default decisions just can’t apply to your business? Then you need to meet Pia Silva.
If you haven’t heard of the powerhouse that is Pia Silva, then you’re in for a treat. Pia is the founder of Badass Your Brand and Worst of All Design, and she made a very deliberate decision to step away from the default agency model. She knew she had to structure her business in a way that suited her preferred working style, while ensuring it remained wholly efficient to meet her needs and the needs of her clients.
“This model came about because a year prior, a business coach of mine had said to me, ‘you're selling $30,000 projects, you're looking for clients who have $30,000, but you're networking with people who think you're great, yet they don't have $30,000, they have $3,000. So maybe you don't want to keep saying, oh, sorry, you don't have $30,000, so forget you, and instead think of something to sell them. Just come up with something you would sell someone if they had $3,000.”
And in the space of just a couple of days Pia had pivoted her whole business from chasing big projects via a traditional agency model, to making more money with a smaller project model.
On today’s podcast:
- Break the ceiling by breaking the default agency model
- Why project management tools don’t work for every business
- Using a lead product and a bullseye product
- The freedom of transparent pricing
- How to figure out your pricing strategy
- Increase your price as you increase your value
- Figure out a model that works for you and what you want out of life
- Create a marketing structure that means you constantly have leads coming up
- Why the big agency model can’t work for smaller businesses
Links:
- Badass Your Brand - the impatient entrepreneur’s guide to turning expertise into profit
- Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
- Twitter @ScaleSpark
- LinkedIn @thesusanboles
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Unsolicited Response Rate: The Only Content Metric That Actually Matters
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
02/25/25 • 52 min
We all want our work to resonate—but how do we know if it actually does? In this episode, I sit down with storytelling and speaking expert Jay Acunzo to explore the concept of resonance over reach and how we can track something that feels inherently unmeasurable. Jay shares his Unsolicited Response Rate (URR) framework, a KPI designed to measure whether your ideas truly connect with your audience. If you're tired of vanity metrics and want to focus on making an impact, this conversation is for you.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- What a KPI actually is—and why anything (even calm or resonance) can be one
- How to measure audience engagement beyond likes and follows
- Jay’s URR (Unsolicited Response Rate) framework for tracking meaningful interactions
- The importance of putting in the reps before expecting results
Connect with Jay:
Connect with Susan:
- Beyond Margins
- Bluesky
- (00:00) - Introduction to KPIs and Calm as a KPI
- (01:07) - Understanding Resonance with Jay Acunzo
- (04:18) - Measuring Resonance: The URR System
- (08:18) - Applying the URR System in Practice
- (27:08) - Becoming Your Own Data Repository
- (30:16) - Developing Resonance in Business
- (34:36) - Embracing the Creative Process
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

How Your Software Impacts Your Business' Ecosystem with Melanie Richards
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
08/18/20 • 43 min
Software is the lifeblood of any modern business.
Software keeps projects on track and helps clients pay you.
Software is how we communicate with each other.
Software allows you to operate leaner and smaller than ever before.
And every piece of software involved in your business has a role to play—an integral part of your business’ ecosystem. It has a job description and it's a core member of your team, just like any human. That’s why it’s even more important that you have the right tool, doing the right job, at the right price.
Choosing the right software tool, particularly when it comes to your choice of project or task management, can impact how well your team communicates, how well-informed your clients are, and how they feel about your service as a whole. Your financial software choices can also affect how quickly you can send an invoice, how quickly clients pay you, and ultimately, how healthy your cash flow is.
And that's what we're talking about today with Melanie Richards, owner of Modern Traction, a boutique web design agency. Mel is an award-winning web designer and brand strategist with over two decades of experience. Her turnkey approach is designed to save you time, ensures your brand and messaging is on point, and that your website is built to drive growth. Mel’s on a mission to create efficient marketing solutions that support busy entrepreneurs to gain faster traction and multiply their impact.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
- How the right choice of software has helped Mel scale her company, increase profits, and deliver better results for her clients
- How the right software tools make your team more effective and how ClickUp helps Mel’s team know what to do next
- All the tools that have been essential for Mel’s business
- Lower costs, less complication, more opportunities for automation
Learn more about Melanie Richards:
Learn more about Susan:
- Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
- Twitter @ScaleSpark
- LinkedIn @thesusanboles
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

Planning for Parental Leave with Erica Courdae & India Jackson
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
05/28/24 • 47 min
How do you step away from your business for a necessary break without losing momentum or compromising your values?
Deciding to take a leave or sabbatical, and then figuring out the best approach for you, how to maintain client relationships while you're away, or even ensuring you have enough financial security during your break are all complex challenges that many of us face.
As part of my exploration of breaks, leaves, and sabbaticals and all of the different ways you can plan for them, I’m talking to Erica Courdae and India Jackson, the partners behind Pause on the Play, a resource library, podcast, and consultancy committed to guiding individuals in defining their values, diversifying their networks, and disrupting systems of oppression.
India has just returned from parental leave after having her first child. Together, she and Erica have navigated the operational and financial complexities of planning for leave, including their decision to shut down the Pause on the Play Community.
While the context of Erica and India's experience is parental leave, the strategies they employed are universally applicable. Their unique approach to planning and managing their leave can be a practical guide for anyone considering a break from their business.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
- How a desire for openness, simplicity, and sustainability shaped their conversations about the business even before planning for India’s parental leave
- How Erica and India went about simplifying processes and closing loops with their clients and community leading up to going on leave
- How the business maintained some revenue during leave, and how they planned an on-ramp for India’s return
- How joy and ease are informing their decision-making as they return to full operations
- Why they have clear containers around what platforms they use to discuss work and personal life
- How they are building opportunities to connect with their communities as people without always making it about work
Learn more about Erica Courdae and India Jackson:
- Pause on the Play
- Instagram: @pauseontheplay
Learn more about me, Susan Boles:
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous

How to Build a Client Report Card for a Calmer Business with Karen Sergeant
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI
02/11/25 • 39 min
Managing client relationships is one of the biggest challenges of running a service-based business. Expectations, boundaries, and communication all play a role in whether an engagement runs smoothly or goes off the rails. So, how do you actually know if you're doing a good job?
Karen Sergeant has a solution: a Client Report Card. This system helps her measure and manage client relationships proactively, identifying potential issues before they become problems. As a fractional COO, Karen has spent years refining this process to keep her work feeling calm—even when working inside chaotic businesses. In this episode, we break down her weekly client evaluation system—what metrics she tracks, how she uses the data, and how you can implement a similar approach in your own business.
If you’ve ever struggled with scope creep, unclear expectations, or misaligned client relationships, this conversation is packed with insights that will help you create a calmer, more intentional business.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why Karen created her Client Report Card—and how it helps her business
- The 10 criteria she evaluates weekly to measure client relationships
- How tracking qualitative vibe-based data helps prevent burnout
- How you can build your own Client Report Card to keep your business running smoothly
Learn more about Karen Sergeant:
Learn more about Susan Boles:
We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
- (00:00) -
- (00:36) - Managing Client Relationships
- (02:06) - The Importance of Boundaries and Scope
- (08:31) - Karen's Report Card Criteria
- (14:35) - Applying the Report Card in Business
Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous
Show more best episodes

Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI have?
Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI currently has 120 episodes available.
What topics does Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI cover?
The podcast is about Marketing, Consulting, Management, Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Growth, Podcasts, Finance, Small Business, Business and Coaching.
What is the most popular episode on Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI?
The episode title 'Driving New Business and Managing Operations Using ClickUp with Layla Pomper' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI?
The average episode length on Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI is 40 minutes.
How often are episodes of Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI released?
Episodes of Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI?
The first episode of Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI was released on Aug 29, 2019.
Show more FAQ

Show more FAQ
Comments

@beckymollenkamp
Jun 4
We need more business shows that focus on calm and owner wellness above all else. This is a fantastic show and thank you, Susan, for this refreshing take.
1 Like
Reply