Going From Reactive to Proactive In Your Business with Andrea Bentschneider
08/24/23 • 35 min
Are you running your business on a wing and a prayer? Meaning, you don’t have a plan for what to do next in your business?
Andrea Bentschneider has been a leading expert genealogist in Germany for almost 20 years. She’s been featured on international TV shows and is a sought-after guest on German media.
But when she first joined The CEO Collective, her business and marketing strategy was winging it. She didn’t have consistent demand for her services, so she would have to hire and let go staff as demand went up and down, respectively. And she ended up in the feast and famine cycle because of it.
Things have turned around for Andrea now, but how? Today on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, we continue our entrepreneurial poverty and hustle culture series.
In this episode, Andrea will share how being clear on how you’re going to market your business, and being consistent with it, is a complete game changer. You’ll shift from reacting all the time to knowing what the right next steps are so you can move your business forward.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
1:19 - What are some signs that you’re winging it instead of being proactive in your business?
6:05 - Andrea talks about how long she’s been in business and what it looked like prior to joining The CEO Collective.
10:53 - Andrea explains what she found inside the membership that she couldn’t find elsewhere.
15:03 - What’s the one gap that still exists in Andrea’s marketing? She also reveals the answer to a question I answered that finalized her decision to join.
17:40 - Andrea has had some major media coverage as she’s gotten more proactive this year. She discusses some big visibility opportunities that started showing up for her.
21:00 - What were some of the little things Andrea did to help her land marketing opportunities?
27:35 - Here’s the one question Andrea asks herself whenever she’s hesitating about doing something. She also shares what she’d say to anyone considering joining.
Mentioned in Going From Reactive to Proactive In Your Business with Andrea Bentschneider
- Beyond History
- The CEO Retreat
- The CEO Collective
- Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
- Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Connect with Me:
- Instagram: @racheal.cook
- TikTok: @rachealcookmba
- LinkedIn: @rachealcook
- YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
- Website: The CEO Collective
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!
Are you running your business on a wing and a prayer? Meaning, you don’t have a plan for what to do next in your business?
Andrea Bentschneider has been a leading expert genealogist in Germany for almost 20 years. She’s been featured on international TV shows and is a sought-after guest on German media.
But when she first joined The CEO Collective, her business and marketing strategy was winging it. She didn’t have consistent demand for her services, so she would have to hire and let go staff as demand went up and down, respectively. And she ended up in the feast and famine cycle because of it.
Things have turned around for Andrea now, but how? Today on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, we continue our entrepreneurial poverty and hustle culture series.
In this episode, Andrea will share how being clear on how you’re going to market your business, and being consistent with it, is a complete game changer. You’ll shift from reacting all the time to knowing what the right next steps are so you can move your business forward.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
1:19 - What are some signs that you’re winging it instead of being proactive in your business?
6:05 - Andrea talks about how long she’s been in business and what it looked like prior to joining The CEO Collective.
10:53 - Andrea explains what she found inside the membership that she couldn’t find elsewhere.
15:03 - What’s the one gap that still exists in Andrea’s marketing? She also reveals the answer to a question I answered that finalized her decision to join.
17:40 - Andrea has had some major media coverage as she’s gotten more proactive this year. She discusses some big visibility opportunities that started showing up for her.
21:00 - What were some of the little things Andrea did to help her land marketing opportunities?
27:35 - Here’s the one question Andrea asks herself whenever she’s hesitating about doing something. She also shares what she’d say to anyone considering joining.
Mentioned in Going From Reactive to Proactive In Your Business with Andrea Bentschneider
- Beyond History
- The CEO Retreat
- The CEO Collective
- Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
- Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Connect with Me:
- Instagram: @racheal.cook
- TikTok: @rachealcookmba
- LinkedIn: @rachealcook
- YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
- Website: The CEO Collective
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!
Previous Episode
Why Underpricing (and Overdelivering) Is Creating Business Burnout
We women entrepreneurs keep underpricing ourselves when offering the same service or product as our male counterparts. On average, we price up to 20% less. When I first heard that, I was blown away!
Pricing is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to adjust your business trajectory and make it more sustainable. I’ve seen it in my business and those of my clients. So in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn why properly pricing your offers is the first step to designing a successfully sustainable business and how to figure out the math in your pricing.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:49 - What is the feast or famine zone, and does your business fall into it?
13:43 - Discover the two biggest reasons why businesses in this zone struggle to compete.
16:54 - I demonstrate how underpricing can easily lead to overworking by using the example of a wedding photographer.
20:07 - Taking the wedding photographer example further, this simple step is an easy way to improve your profitability and ease burnout.
25:07 - What if you want to double your rates? You need to take a deeper look at these factors in your business.
30:27 - Pricing impacts other aspects of your business. Michalowicz’s Profit First percentages can help you figure out the math to meet your revenue goal.
33:46 - I push back against the hype of online gurus who have a certain mindset about pricing and the need for a large audience to get enough clients and customers.
38:27 - What if you’re not used to selling at a higher price or booking multiple sessions at a time per client?
45:51 - Keep these questions in mind as you crunch your numbers.
Mentioned in Why Underpricing (and Overdelivering) Is Creating Business Burnout
- Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
- The Get Paid Calculator
- The CEO Collective
- Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
- Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Connect with Me:
- Instagram: @racheal.cook
- TikTok: @rachealcookmba
- LinkedIn: @rachealcook
- YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
- Website: The CEO Collective
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!
Next Episode
Your Profit Road Map for More Sustainable Sales
What do you think you need to gain in order for your business to change and grow? Too often entrepreneurs get hyped up to chase vanity metrics like huge numbers of Instagram followers or email subscribers. Ultimately though, gaining five or 10 new clients is all you need to have a massive impact on your business.
The simplest, easiest way for getting those clients isn’t something sexy or glamorous. It involves using a real strategy to invite people in, actually connect with them, and let them know how you can help. Continuing on with this series to avoid hustle and burnout, today I talk about the second strategy you need to adopt to grow a truly sustainable business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:27 - I rant (again) about an issue in the business world that sets so many people up for failure.
5:18 - What is a predictable profit plan? It’s key to how I help entrepreneurs break out of the feast or famine cycle, so I walk you through how to put one together.
10:00 - I reveal the most important but least discussed part of a profit plan. If you don’t have this, it’ll break your business.
10:45 - People get so focused on marketing and sales that they forget about this piece of the puzzle and end up with a lot of unhappy clients.
15:00 - What will be your strategies for marketing, sales, and delivery? I use The CEO Collective as an example.
17:13 - Consider this if you have no idea when you should promote your signature offer. I give more examples from my business.
20:14 - Full upfront payment is awesome! But you’ll love extending payment plans to clients for this incredibly powerful reason.
25:04 - How can you ensure that you don’t experience a revenue gap?
Mentioned in Your Profit Road Map for More Sustainable Sales
Connect with Me:
- Instagram: @racheal.cook
- TikTok: @rachealcookmba
- LinkedIn: @rachealcook
- YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
- Website: The CEO Collective
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!
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