Have you ever felt ashamed of wanting to make more money? If so, this episode is for you! My guest, Laura Sinclair, captured my attention quickly when I saw this on her website: "be unashamed to desire more money". I invited her onto the show ASAP so we could dig a little deeper into this topic in hopes that you walk away feeling more confident in your aspirations because in order to make a bigger impact, you'll need to push through this discomfort. Takeaways: Take risks and have the...

Today we're talking about productivity and how you can be more effective with this in your life and business. There's a big difference between being busy and being productive so I'm sharing my definition of both and how you can be productive and achieve your goals. I share my personal struggle with this as I'm a person who enjoys being busy and how I've taken action to mitigate this. I also share the 3 productivity personality types: the busy bee, the adaptable achiever, and the focused...

If you're looking to grow your business, one place to focus on is your customer experience. It's likely that you're thinking of creating a new offering but instead you could amplify your experience and gain more clients. My guest today, Ernesto Mandowsky, shares how his experience in the restaurant industry has influenced his approach to customer experience and he has 5 specific tips for you. Throughout the conversation he shares these specific ideas with you that you can implement today and...

Curious what the secret sauce is to making progress towards any goal? It's sometimes a tough pill to swallow but the key is...accountability.  In this episode I share the true meaning of accountability because it's not just about checking things off a to-do list. Accountability is about taking ownership of your actions (or lack of them) so you can learn from all experiences and it leads to continual progress. I share how you can implement a few simple things each week to help you hold...

Does entrepreneurship feel lonely to you? If so, you're not alone in this feeling and we're talking about it this week on the podcast. Charelle Griffith shares her journey into entrepreneurship and the challenges of loneliness in the business world. From hesitating to start her business all the way to being featured on BBC, Charelle shares the details about how she's navigated loneliness as well as visibility as an entrepreneur as well. We get into all the feelings and ups and downs along the...

Entrepreneurship is hard, yet rewarding but we need to talk about the hard stuff so you know you're not alone. In this conversation, Ruthie Sterrett and I talk about the hard things we've encountered that we didn't know was coming our way as an entrepreneur. From revenue changes to emotions, we share it all and we do it while we are both experiencing hard things. Instead of waiting until we were on the other side of it, we share while we're in the messy middle so you know you're not alone. In...

In this episode, Josh Haynam, co-founder of Interact, a quiz software company, shares openly about the rewards and challenges of entrepreneurship. Josh was on the podcast in 2020 and we talk about all that's changed at Interact including how they've built a team (with no investment), continued to focus on not just results for customers but also a culture of the team as it's grown and how "egolessness" was at the heart of it all. We talk about the iterative process of evolving a business,...

In this episode, I share how the use of quizzes can help you grow your email list and business. We talk about why quizzes are more interactive, how they help you learn more about your audience and how they can help you grow your business. I share the 3 types of quizzes and then share a step-by-step process of creating a quiz in just 2 minutes using InteractAI.  You can find all the details about this process and create your quiz in 2 minutes for free at amandamckinney.com/interact.  ...

In this episode, Matt Gerlach shares his journey of stumbling into entrepreneurship and working with entrepreneurs in the baby product industry. He discusses the challenges and lessons he learned along the way, including the importance of self-care and setting boundaries. Matt emphasizes the need to trust the process and surrender to the unknown. He also highlights the significance of focusing on results and prioritizing actions that lead to success. Matt encourages entrepreneurs to avoid the...

In this episode, I share my overview of the book 'Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us' by Daniel Pink. The book is focused on motivation and especially highlights the importance of intrinsic motivation as it relates to following through and staying focused on a specific outcome. As an entrepreneur, this content will help you understand how to set meaningful goals and continue to stay motivated through tough times. I also emphasize the concept of mastery and how you can apply...

In this episode, Amanda McKinney and Erika Lucas discuss the topic of knowing when to shut down a business. They emphasize the importance of listening to customers and being receptive to their feedback and also checking in with yourself to ensure the business is still connected to your values. They also discuss failure, adaptability and getting support from other entrepreneurs. The combination of understanding data (revenue, product-market fit, etc.) as well as your capacity and willingness...

In this episode, Erika Lucas shares her insights on the 5 mistakes that new entrepreneurs often make. As an investor who works with startups, growth phase and mature companies, she's seen it all and boils it down into 5 things to watch out for. All entrepreneurs fall into these traps but once you know what to look out for, you can prevent staying in them. Both Amanda and Erika share personal examples of each of the mistakes to ensure you don't feel like you're the only one navigating the...

In this episode, I share what to do when it feels like nothing is working in your business because these times are tough when you're an entrepreneur and feel alone and like you're the only one dealing with the hard times. I share my approach that helps me and my clients navigate the tough times and come out stronger on the other side. I share my step-y-step process (which includes 7 questions to ask yourself) for assessing the stressful situation and creating a focused and intentional plan to...

Feeling the stress of doing it all in your business? It can be overwhelming and while it seems like doing it all yourself is the best option, it might be time to let go a little. In this episode, my right-hand-lady, Jess Gulley-Ward, and I talk about how we approached working together so I could successfully hand things off to her and gain some of my time back as the CEO of my business. This honest, casual conversation includes:  What led Amanda to (finally) outsource in my business  ...

In this episode, I discuss how to get what you want this year. After conducting research from my audience I realized there are 3 main things everyone seems to want: Clarity, Calm and Profit. After analyzing the data, I realized that you're closer to these things than you think but you have to do one thing first...stop lying to yourself. I've identified 3 lies we tend to tell ourselves as entrepreneurs in the thick of things but if we stop lying about these, we will have the Clarity, Calm and...

Want to ditch your corporate job and go all-in on entrepreneurship? It's a fantastic dream but it can be scary to take steps to make that dream become a reality. In this podcast interview, Holly Haynes shares how she navigated the self-doubt and created a 7-figure business over the course of a few years. While it didn't happen overnight, it only took 18 months for her to leave her corporate job and retire her husband from his job too! She's proof that you don't need all day to create your...

In this episode, I discuss how to create a sustainable business that integrates into your life instead of taking it over. There are four steps to achieve this: identifying your definition of success, determining financial sustainability, designing your ideal schedule, and overcoming the comparison game. By understanding what success means to you, setting financial goals, creating a schedule that aligns with your desired lifestyle, and avoiding comparison, you can build a business that...

New year, new business goals. But what happens when your mind plays tricks on you and says "but you didn't follow through last year, why try this year?". It's time to kick those thoughts to the curb and re-write your story for 2024 because just because you didn't follow through before, doesn't mean you can't this time around. In this episode I'm sharing:  My Follow-Thru Framework that ensures progress on your goal.  Set clear and meaningful goals that you truly want to achieve. Visualize...

Do you feel lonely, like you're on an island and the only person who's dealing with these entrepreneurship struggles? While the feeling is real, the good news is that you're not the only one. Every accidental entrepreneur has felt this way at some point. Plus there's one thing you can do to help this process overall and it's to find your support system. In this episode I'll share: Why a support system is critical for accidental entrepreneurs The 5 buckets of support you need When you need...

It's that time of year when we look back and reflect on what we've achieved (or haven't) and set our sights on the new year. While it's tempting to skip right to the fun planning part for next year, please don't skip the reflection process. As a business owner, taking time to reflect will help you make better business decisions and set achievable goals for the coming year. In this episode I share:  3 step process for end of year business reflection  Next year goal setting  Writing a letter...

As a business owner who's almost a one-woman-show, it was nerve-wracking to know I needed to take a month off due to a health issue. But I learned a lot and now get to apply it to my business and you can too! I'm sharing all the lessons I learned as a prepped for and took 1 month off from my business.  Prepping for taking a month off  Getting back to work after a month off Mentally, how it impacted me Did I actually complete disconnect from business What was the biggest challenge /...

It's goal setting season! As business owners who are tackling a lot of decisions in our business, this is a big one that often comes with a lot of pressure. In this episode I'm sharing a snippet from a live planning series I hosted all about Resilient Business Planning and I don't want anyone to miss out on this part. Setting a realistic-for-you goal is critical to your business success and I'm sharing the step-by-step process. How to approach goal setting in a realistic way  The two...

Today we're learning from entrepreneur and fashion stylist, Jessica Pappineau. While she's a successful business owner now, her journey to success included working retail and collecting food stamps for a while when her family was going through a hard time. Too often we see the end result for business owners and think it was an easy journey but Jessica shares her journey to living her dream. Plus she shares fashion tips with us so we can find confidence through clothes even though it's "so...

In this episode we sit down with the fabulous Barb Betts, who is shaking up the traditional approach to referrals! Barb spills the tea on why she hates that word and reveals her genius strategy for building genuine relationships that lead to a steady stream of business, in any industry. Get ready to learn how to make trust your secret marketing weapon and discover the power of unexpected deposits in people's lives. In this episode we discuss:  How word of mouth is an unsteady referral base ...