Confession. I'm a bit of a control freak.  Control is something we are socialized to do. We are told that we are the masters of our destiny!  the captains of our ship! and we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps! And in reality - in a business - there are so many things that are out of our control, like whether: A prospective client says yesYou  land a podcast interview or a TEDx talk,People open our emails The algorithm shows people a social media post you spent an hour writing. Even...

You are the business owner who gets results for your clients.  You're masterful at what you do and yet so many times you are passed over and overlooked for someone with half the expertise and experience.  What is the deal with that?  I wish we lived in a world where the people who are best at what they do are the ones who are consistently known and hired instead of the charismatic few who did it for themselves and now they are shouting it from the rooftops that they can do it for you...

Do you feel like an overlooked expert? Have you ever thought, “I am great at what I do!  So, why don't more people know about me?”  I'll be honest. I have asked myself this question and I've become a little obsessed with figuring out the answer to it.  In my business, I am so lucky that I get to work with amazing, talented people who are experts in their field. Years of experience, finely honed skills, and the work they do with their clients is incredible. It gets results. They are the...

Can we talk about how batshit bananas the current economic climate is?  Online business is undergoing a major correction right now. Sales cycles take longer. Trust is at an all time low. And all of those business owners who were touting their “Big Teams!” and “7 Figure Success!” are now talking about descaling and degrowth.  The bottom line is people aren't buying like they used to. I felt it, and I'm sure you have too.  But now that our economy has a big case of the weirds, how do you...

“I don't know if I'm expert enough.” “Oh, really?”  As soon as I hear this phrase, I always ask, “So tell me about your experience.”  And then I am regaled by a list of certifications, education, experience on the job, transferable skills, developing their own frameworks and working with clients and getting results. Yes, you're definitely expert enough, but I understand why people feel like they aren’t.   Why you doubt your expertise and think that you're not expert enough. And some people...

Have you ever thought that one of the reasons that you're hesitant to market and put your expertise out there is because of the way we're taught to market in the online space.  Because what we're taught is not for you, especially if you are an expertise-based business that's been doing it for a while.  What works for the masses doesn't work for you.  On this podcast, we're diving into 3 big messaging tropes that you commonly hear in online business that don't work for expert-based...

Wouldn’t it be lovely if people recognized your expertise and hired you on the spot? Unfortunately, good work doesn’t speak for itself, and getting great results for your clients is not enough. Rebel Truth: Good work is never enough. You’ve got to advocate for your work. You’ve got to speak up and be seen for that good work.  You’ve got to showcase why you’re the expert who can get the job done. Your right-fit client is out there right now looking for you, and if you’re not marketing,...

“I wish I didn't have to market. Why can't people just see I'm an expert and hire me on the spot?”  I can't tell you how many times I've heard this very thing and I get why. Experts think because we are damn good at what we do, that people should just recognize that and give us their money.  I wish it was that way but it’s not. I also understand how much it hurts to watch someone who has half the experience and expertise that you possess, get the clients and the opportunities that you know...

This is gonna get awkward.  There's always a time in marketing when you reach this awkward transition point.  Where you go from empathizing, providing value, and giving your potential clients an “ah-ha” that makes them think to asking them to work with you.  And let's face it. It's a tricky, weird transition to navigate in your marketing.  So, how do you transition from marketing into asking for the sale?  That's exactly what we’re talking about. Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club?...

This anniversary really snuck up on me. I realized the other morning that it has been five years since I first published the 3 Word Rebellion. Then when I sat down and added up the numbers, I realized that I had now sold over 5,000 copies of the book, which blew me away.  I can't even begin to describe that to you.  Today, I want to take you behind the scenes and tell you the completely unglamorous story of what it took to sell that many books in 5 years. In this episode, we discussed: The...

Your marketing message is a bit like a puzzle.  There are multiple pieces that come together in a unique way that form a compelling and persuasive story about why your right-fit clients would choose to work with you.  But too many times, business owners are missing a piece of the puzzle and, no, their cat didn't steal it.  Once you've helped your client diagnose their problem and dispel any misconceptions that they might have about the work you do, you think they are ready for your offer, but...

No one understands your work quite like you do.  What you consider common knowledge, your potential clients don't even know about - it is not on their radar.  And this is part of the curse of expertise.  What we think as experts is universally understood - it's not.  And what your potential clients don't understand, keep them from taking the next step from working with you.  In this episode, we talk about misconceptions and dispelling misconceptions as a core piece of your minimum viable...

Do you hate the idea of pressing on people's pain points?   Agitating the pain so that the only solution to make it stop is by giving you money?  I do too. It's gross. It's icky, and, unfortunately, it works.  But there's another way to talk about your clients' struggles and challenges without feeling like a big old sleazeball.  It's key to creating your minimum viable marketing message and ensuring your potential clients feel seen, heard, and valued.  So what is this alternative?  You'll...

A special invite to the Make Marketing Suck Less Virtual Event? Social media feels like a 20-lb weight choking all the joy out of my business. All the "shoulds." All the rules. All the head trash around having the "perfect" hook." Maybe you feel it, too? Here's the deal: you don't have to RELY on social media for audience growth. You've got a ton of options. Finding what works for you is freeing. I'm hosting a virtual event, Make Marketing Suck Less to help you do just that. I'm...

Who are you talking to?  And I don't mean just your right-fit client. You probably know that you're talking to moms, other business owners, or women in tech looking to make a career change.  But who are you talking to in relationship with your business?  Have they been following you for ages, or did they just stumble on your website yesterday?  Because knowing that matters.  Let's talk about why understanding the relationship your potential clients have with you is key and how it's going to...

The foundation for all your messaging is something that is so often overlooked and skipped by many solo business owners.  This is an essential piece of messaging for ensuring that you're able to capture the attention of the people you want to serve. It helps you grow your audience.  This piece of messaging also makes sure that what you're saying resonates, that it makes sense and that it is persuasive to the people you most want to reach.  So what is this often overlooked and skipped-over...

Happy 2024, Expert!   I'm noticing something that I never thought I would see in online business.   Messaging is finally having its moment.  While I'm thrilled that messaging is getting the attention it deserves, there is a catch, my friend.  Most of the business coaches and marketers who are talking about it are oversimplifying what messaging is and leading business owners astray about its true strategic purpose in your business.  So let's start the year off right by demystifying what...

We made it.   This has been quite a year.  It's been unlike any year that I have seen in business before. As we wrap up 2023, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate and also take you behind the scenes of my business for an honest look at what 2023 was really like, what I'm proud of, what didn't go well at all and my secret excitement and hope for 2024. In this episode we'll discuss: My top three highlights of the year The most challenging situations of the year, both financially and...

There's a famous episode of South Park where gnomes are stealing the kids' underpants. The kids go on a quest to find out why the gnomes are stealing underpants. The reason? It's capitalism.  You see, the gnomes have a plan: Step 1, Steal underpants Step 2, I don't know??? Step 3, Profit! The way marketing is taught often uses the exact same strategy as the underpants gnomes, and it could be the reason why your marketing isn't as effective in bringing you more clients and booking more...

 If you scroll through social media, there are a heck of a lot of marketing experts all screaming at you about how they have the way, the proven formula that will help you book more business overnight.  Much of that advice is conflicting, and it also leaves you feeling like you need to be everywhere on all the platforms to grow your business.  And that's tough, especially as a solo business owner who is juggling so much client delivery, and sales, on top of all the marketing you should be...

All-or-nothing thinking is a scourge when it comes to messaging and marketing for your business.  What I see i sfar too often  business owners spend a ton of time, energy, and even money creating a new marketing asset.  Let's say you create a new lead magnet to grow your email community.  You'll spend hours creating that lead magnet, writing the welcome sequence, creating the landing page for it.   It could take you weeks or even months to finish that project, and then you'll put it out...

Do you ever feel like you're not marketing enough?  You know what you should be doing, but the thought of doing it sucks the life force out of you.  You'd much rather work with your clients or do almost anything else, including cleaning your cat's litter box, than market your business.   If that's you. I want you to know that you are not alone.  I am letting you in on a recent conversation I had with two Expert Up Club members, Laura Gatsos Young and Bev Feldman, about under marketing...

It's that time of year when you start planning for 2024 and begin thinking about the support you want for your business.  If that's you, I'd love to put The Expert Up Club on your radar for next year. The Expert Up Club is a fantastic community that focuses on the overlooked experts among us. You know, the ones who are often overshadowed by the flashy web celebs with all their attention-grabbing marketing. This club is specifically designed for established solo business owners who excel in...

What's remarkable to me is there are so many courses and programs out there to teach you every marketing tactic under the sun. Yet, what those courses rarely (if ever) teach you is—how to know if your marketing is working.  It's no wonder when I ask a business owner, “Is your marketing helping you reach your business goals?” They stare at me blankly and then shrug. “I don't know.”   It’s time that you know so you're not wasting your time, energy, and resources doing marketing that is...