Streamlined Solopreneur: Tips to Help Solopreneurs Become Automators

My love-hate[but mostly hate] relationship with social media is well documented. It feels like a time-suck where you get into arguments with people who don’t care about anything you say. People tell me it’s great to grow your business...I just don’t see it.

But Katie Brinkley has changed that for me. She elevates CEOs to become thought leaders and disruptors in their industries. And she does it mostly through social media.

By the end of this episode, she’ll give you strategies for choosing the right social networks, posting (3-4 times per week max), as well as how to waste less time and make more sales.

Want to hear a longer, ad-free version of this episode where Katie and I talk about brand social media vs. personal social media? Become a member of Streamlined Solopreneur Accelerated.

Top Takeaways

• Select the Right Platforms: Focus on one or two platforms where your target audience is most active. Remember each platform has its own culture.
• Prioritize Genuine Engagement: Spend time connecting and commenting on others' posts to build relationships. Engagement is more impactful than frequent posting without interaction.
• Use Hashtags Strategically: Identify and engage with hashtags your ideal clients are using. This approach helps you connect more effectively with your target audience.

Show Notes

• Katie Brinkley
• Stampede Social on Instagram
• Manychat
• The Social Shift

I abhor hustle culture. Telling someone to work a full-time job, then go home and work more all for some goal that keeps changing is, in my opinion, how to lead an empty life. I’m worried that, even in 2024, we continue to fetishize making money and hustling. So I decided to take it to Khe Hy.

Khe, if you don’t know, worked hard – as he puts it, he hustled for 10 years of his life. He worked on Wall Street, becoming the equivalent of a junior partner in a law firm, and earning a 7-figure salary. But he left that job, and he’s built a life he enjoys.

But he makes it very clear: sometimes you do need to hustle. Life is full of seasons – and recognizing that seasonality is important. We cover a ton of topics in our short time.

Top Takeaways

• There are seasons to life. It’s important to recognize that and adjust for the season you’re in.
• If you’re working to eventually gain more time, ask yourself if you can cut some costs and gain that time now. Sure, someone could pay you $10,000 for 5 hours of data entry – but do you want to do data entry, or would you rather have those 5 hours free?
• There’s a difference between revenue and profit. Most people share top line revenue, but what are they really taking home?

Show Notes

• Khe Hy
• Revenue Hub's interview with Tiago Araújo
• RadReads
• The magic of doing $10,000 per hour work
• Are you a Post-Achievement Professional?

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Imagine that you’re going to give a talk on a topic you know really well. You spend time on the presentation, rehearse it 100 times, dial in the slides, and you’re feeling great. You get the conference, deliver the talk, and you think you nailed it. But when you ask for questions, one person raises her hand and says, “Nous ne parlons pas anglais.”

That’s right. You just delivered your talk in English, and the entire audience speaks French. You made an assumption that you knew that audience. And the conference host made that same assumption.

Now the effects, or embarrassment, may not be as strong if you guest on a podcast, but they can cut against your credibility, and potentially waste your time...and the audience’s time. That’s why you need to be prepared.

And that’s exactly what public speaking coach (and fantastic guest) Adriana Baer is going to talk to us about today. We chat about everything from research to storytelling, and she even has a few bonus tips. Be sure to stick around until the end for a special bundled deal we’re offering.

Top Takeaways

• Podcast guesting is a gift. While the rest of the world lives in 5 second sound bites, podcasts give us the time and space to flex our expertise.
• To be an effective podcast guest, you need to do your research. Understand who you’re talking to, and how you can help them.
• You need to tell good stories – you do that but having some prepared, but also by actively listening to the host.

Show Notes

• Adriana Baer
• Why Podcast Interviews are a Content Goldmine with Tom Schwab
• The Digital Storytelling Aspect of Podcasting
• The Solopreneur's Gift Guide

Sponsored by: Sensei

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Subscription services are increasingly popular and for good reason. On top of creating more predictable income for your business, they allow you to really focus and serve your subscribers instead of constantly trying to grind out new sales. Plus, it makes your business more sellable. We'll talk about all of that and more in this week's episode with John Warrillow, best-selling author of Built to Sell, The Automatic Customer, and The Art of Selling your business. And in Build Something More, we'll even talk about what it's like to write a best-selling book!

Top Takeaways:

• Subscriptions make your business more predictable, more sellable, and place less pressure on your sales process. One Sale → One Payment vs. One Sale → regular monthly payments.
• You need to go all-in for a subscription business to work. Giving people a choice between one time and subscription will usually result in fewer (if any) subscriptions.
• When it comes to subscription fatigue, you need to demonstrate value in a tangible way. A 10% discount won't do that. But showing 10x more value will.

Show Notes:

• John Warrilow
• The Art of Selling Your Bussiness: Winning Strategies
• The Automatic Customer
• Jodie Cook: Built to Sell Radio
• How to Hire a VA That Actually Helps with Matthew Yahes
• Launch by Jeff Walker
• Growing a Multilingual Newsletter (on the side!) with Maciek Palmowski
• Creator Crew

Sponsored by: Sensei | Nexcess | TextExpander

Do you have offerings for people at any level of their journey? That’s the importance of having a well-defined product ladder. A product ladder provides multiple offerings at different price points and levels of engagement to meet potential customers where they are at.

Today I’ll talk about how I have struggled with this in my own business, with offerings that didn’t clearly communicate how I help my specific target audience of busy solopreneurs with podcasts.

Then, I give you a walk through (walk-up?) of my Product Ladder!

Want to hear my poke holes in my product ladder and give a general update on Podcast Navigator and my business? You can become a member over at https://streamlined.fm/join

Top Takeaways

1. As a solopreneur, it's important to have multiple offerings at different price points to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Some offerings should be scalable and not require a lot of your time.
2. Your product ladder should clearly communicate how you help your specific target audience and micro-segments achieve their goals. Be focused rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
3. Map out your product ladder from low-priced "assistance" offerings like courses, to mid-priced "accountability" offerings like group coaching, to high-priced "acceleration" offerings like done-for-you services. Have something for customers at every stage.
4. Your core offering that you want to sell the most should be in the middle of your product ladder. For me, that's my Podcast Navigator tool.
5. Constantly evaluate and refine your product ladder based on customer feedback and your business goals as a solopreneur. Don't be afraid to make adjustments as you gain more clarity.

Show Notes

• Podcast Navigator
• My Home Page, where most of product live
• Chris Lema’s blog post on Product Ladders

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