The Get Your Act Together Podcast

It’s hard to pick between more than one priority when you believe in each of them.  In a perfect world you can delegate things.  Bring in more people and accomplish more than you can do alone.  Unfortunately there are things that you just can’t delegate.  Some things are yours and yours alone.  This podcast is one of those things for me.  I get plenty of help with the editing and the promotion but I’m the one on camera.  As summer approaches and I look at all the things on my plate I have to make some hard choices.  Listen to this episode to hear how I look at this pod and the amount of my time it consumes.

Timestamps:

03:04- Scheduling 27 hours in a 24 hour world

06:25- The work you can’t delegate

12:41- Podcasting is hard

20:08- How I’m using a side project to test my skills

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Melinda Lee realized that her entire family line was full of silenced women. That realization led her to follow a calling as a communications and presentation coach.  Melinda saw that a lot of the challenges we all have to clear communication and public speaking were things that had nothing to do with memorizing the words.  In this interview we talk about dealing with “the inner critic”, how our bodies are living in the past, and the special needs that entrepreneurs have for presentation skills.  Melinda also shares some practical tips for public speaking that include what footwear you should have on.

Timestamps:

02:48- An extraordinary history of silence

06:40- Should I write out what I want to say beforehand?

11:10- Speaking in person vs. Zoom vs. Podcast

14:07- “The Inner Critic”

16:58- Our bodies are living in the past

20:02- Entrepreneurs need to speak

26:12- The things we can do to prep to speak

Want more from Melinda?

Email her here:

melinda@speakinflow.com

Or connect on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall/

Follow her on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/speakinflow/

Or just go directly to her site:

www.speakinflow.com

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Email is still the best way to market to your audience.  It builds familiarity, establishes authority and trust.  It can also be horribly misused and cause a lot of ill will when done wrong.  This week I talk to Liz Wilcox who teaches online business owners how to make email genuinely effective.  Liz shares how to build a great welcome series.  Explains why we should stop using the word “copy” and shows me that I’ve been making email much too complicated.  This talk was a big help to me and I hope it saves you as much time as it’s saving me.

Timestamps:

01:36- A strange background

04:54- Lose the word ‘Copy”

14:10- It’s a newsletter not a novel

24:06- Repeating yourself

39:44- The biggest mistakes people make with email

41:55- Outsourcing your emails

46:20- Getting people to reply

Want to contact Liz?  Visit her site:

https://lizwilcox.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thelizwilcox/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/The-Liz-Wilcox-103239837942432

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Nathan Hirsch runs a bunch of companies. In college he bought and sold textbooks until the school hit him with a cease and desist order.  Then he became a drop-shipper and sold millions of dollars of baby products. Later he and a partner would sell their company and walk away with life-changing money. So is he relaxing? Nope. Today he has a company that teaches small business owners how to hire, train, and use VAs and freelancers and another pair of companies that provide bookkeeping services to digital businesses.  Nathan talks about how quickly he’s been able to get out of the day-to-day in his companies, how good SOPs and solid books set him up for a stunningly fast sale, and why he isn’t just sailing around the world in a yacht these days.

Timestamps:

02:53- When you have to pivot your entire business

07:37- The decision to sell the company

15:52- From Hiring VAs to teaching how to hire them

18:11- Walking away

24:10- What entrepreneurs need to focus on

Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn:

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhirsch/

Learn more about AccountsBalance (mention the show for 2 free months!):

Accountsbalance.com

Check out all of Nathan’s tools and resources for hiring and training freelancers:

OutsourceSchool.com

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Delegation is one of my most talked about subjects here on the pod.  There's a good reason for that; I’ve spent a lot of time and energy thinking about it and building practices I can rely on to delegate effectively.  The other thing is that when you run an agency you’re essentially a middleman between the delegation your clients use you for and the things you delegate to your team.

In this episode I break down some best practices on delegation.  Things you should be thinking about from the moment you want to hand something off, to the way you can build practices to make the entire experience repeatable with a minimum of fuss.  

As always, please take a moment and give the show a review.  It makes a big difference.  

Timestamps:

02:10- Hire for tasks not job titles.

04:10- Don’t try to make 5 jobs 1 job.

10:20- Make the Scope clear

13:54- The value of systems in delegation

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

What do you do when you have a breakdown after working for a tyrant of a boss… but the boss is you?  That happened to this week’s guest Lydia Lee, who we spoke to in Bali where she spends half her year. It turns out that a breakdown like that is a real wake up call.  Now Lydia coaches mid-career professionals who are looking for something different from the rest of their work life.

This is a great conversation about building the work life you want to live with; not a bigger career or a smaller career, just the right one for you.  We talk about entrepreneurship, delegating work, running a 1-person company, who to work with and how to repell the kinds of people you want to avoid.

More than anything we talk about being deliberate with the choices you make about you’re work life. Consciously or unconsciously you’ll make a lot of choices and the quality of those choices will impact everything from your compensation to where you live to your health.

Timestamps:

03:32- The early mistakes people make when they start a business

09:34- Work can be joyful

13:04- Corporate jobs a damn risky

18:04- Making your business… smaller

24:15- Why Lydia won’t hand over content creation

30:44- Working in the Sweet Spot

33:45- Follow Deep Interests NOT Passion

37:40- Right… for right now.

45:16- Attract the right people. Repel the right people.

Want to contact Lydia?  Email her at:

lydia@screwthecubicle.com

Follow her on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/cubiclecrasher/

Subscribe to her YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/screwthecubicle

Connect on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiallee/

Watch her adventures on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/screw_the_cubicle/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Ads!  The average American sees between 4000 and 10,000 every day.  Most of them are junk.  Some of them work.  Marketing isn’t black magic, it’s a process you can be better or worse executing.  Today I talk to Kristina  Pierce who, for 25 years has been crafting, buying, and monitoring ads across a wide variety of media.  From her HQ in upstate New York, Kristina now runs Pierce Media, an ad agency specializing in social media ads for service based businesses.

Kristina knows a tremendous amount about advertising and happily shares with me details about strategy, the math of advertising, and deep geek stuff about the platforms.  Don’t just listen to this, bring a pencil.

Timestamps:

02:03- The conversation that happens before you buy ads.

07:20- People make decisions in a certain way.

12:42- Get yourself some specialists.

22:29- Testing Your offer

34:45- Vanity metrics

40:20- Pinterest, Bing & other useful forgotten platforms

Want more from Kristina?  Visit her site or on social media:

Website: www.kpiercemedia.com

FB: www.facebook.com/kpiercemedia

IG: www.instagram.com/piercemedia

Linked: www.linkedin.com/in/kristinapiercemedia

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Let’s talk about money!

How much money should your business have put in reserve?  How much in profit?  How much money should you save in taxes?  Should these bundles of cash be stored in one place or many… and where? Lots of businesses out there struggle to make the right moves with their cash.  Many even struggle with the idea that there ARE right moves to make.

Yet clearly there are better and worse ways to manage your company’s cash.  One of the better ways is to follow the “Profit FIrst” model which this weeks’ guest Jenni Davis is an expert in.  Jenni’s company helps scores of small (and not so small) businesses to deploy the “Profit First” methodology in their finances.

Instead of assuming that what the business owner gets is what’s left over when the bills are paid, “Profit First” places the owner at the center of the business’s transactions.  It says that the owner should be the FIRST person paid, not the last; and here at Reynolds OBM we agree.

This week while so many of you are thinking about tax day we thought it would be the perfect day to rebroadcast this gem.  Originally episode 85, it returns now as the team here takes spring break.  Enjoy!

If you’d like to know more about profit first contact Jenni:

https://jmdbusinesssolutions.com/

Check her out n FB:

https://www.facebook.com/JMDBusinessSolutions

Try this primer to Profit First:

https://reynoldsobm--jmdbusinesssolutions.thrivecart.com/profit-first-simplified-diy/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

Jen has a lot going on. Like many entrepreneurs, this daughter of teachers was driven to business ownership by life events.  In a twist of fate it was the forced choice to run her own company that convinced Jen she doesn’t have to make choices like that ever again.

Yes, you can have it all.  Jen publishes the Becoming Iconic magazine, coaches business owners, and runs an agency which provides branding, marketing, and operations support to the female entrepreneur who refuses to compromise.

 Jen and I explore a bunch of different corners of business ownership including just how underrated the difficulties are, the mental game of entrepreneurship, how being able to repeat things is what success looks like, solopreneurship vs. CEO, and a great deal more.

Timestamps:

 00:47- Jen’s on a mission.

03:29- Why the company is called “Becoming Iconic”

09:49- Things go wrong.

13:00- When you have it all and still want more.

16:48- Innovation is at the core of entrepreneurship.

22:04- Why “solopreneurship” is overrated

27:22- The best piece of advice for entrepreneurs

30:11- You can’t enjoy things when you’re dead.

33:40- “Obsessive Gratitude”

39:15- How to enjoy life more than your husband’s next wife.

46:40- Listen to a dog bark

Want more from Jen?  Follow and connect with her here:

Becoming Iconic

https://www.instagram.com/becomingiconic/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-szpigiel-931499195/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Bureaucracy.  Even the word makes some people groan.

I had a realization the other day that a lot of small businesses don’t see any daylight between good systems and unnecessary bureaucracy and frankly that’s a shame.  Just because you’re a startup doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be developing systems for doing things efficiently.  Just because you’re an established company doesn't mean your systems are efficient.

Your goal as the business owner is to make sure that your business can run without you.  IT’S ALSO YOUR JOB to see that your business runs the way you want it to.  One without the other and you’re not going to be happy.  In this episode I talk about a few ways that I run Reynolds OBM that should make sense to all of you.  I talk about a few small projects you can start that will reduce the amount of questions you get, decrease the amount of time you spend looking for things and decrease the number of calls you get from people who don’t know what to do or where to look for something.  Take a listen.

LINK TO KELLY’S FREE URL TRACKER:

https://www.getyouracttogether.co/urltrackersignup

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

There’s a trap that a lot of my guests recently have talked about.  A trap of our own making that agency owners keep falling ito as they work to grow their businesses.  We trap ourselves in our clients’ work.  We know we need to get out of it and yet as hard as we try there’s always a good reason to stay involved personally.  Always a reason to do their work ourselves instead of handing it off to one of our people.  I’ve fallen into this trap many times myself so I thought I’d devote an entire episode to talking about it.

In this episode it’s just you and me and I’m going to show you exactly and specifically how this trap has snared me in the past.  I’ll also show you what’s on the other side when you make the decision to slip out and run your company instead of work on your clients.

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Many small businesses start their own channels through podcasting to get exposure, build brand, and show expertise all at the same time. What they don’t know going into it is just how much work it’s going to be to run your own production company.

Stephanie Judice knows.  She and her nine-person team produce podcasts for upwards of twenty clients every week. They’ve edited, post-produced, and distributed thousands of episodes content for their clients and today she joins me as a guest to talk about the challenges and successes along the way.

We talk about getting out of the day-to-day of the business, hiring for efficiency vs. hiring for redundancy, what you’re responsible for as the owner, and building and rebuilding of roles for people you want to keep.  This is a great conversation, listen in!

Timestamps:

09:40- Perfectionist vs. Leader

13:00- I started asking my team what to fix

17:50- The upside of losing a good person

22:10- The pride of employing people

25:56- Building a team for flexibility

33:45- It’s probably your fault

35:30- 20 Clients, 10 team members, 2 kids

Want more from Stephanie?  Visit her site or on social media:

Website: www.stephaniejudice.com

FB: www.facebook.com/stephaniejudicepodcastmanagement

IG: www.instagram.com/stephaniejudice

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides to be the worst business person they can be. Yet a lot of very talented, very skilled people from plumbers to lawyers and everything in between have trouble running their businesses and that very often comes down to how they deal with the money.  Jen Paterson is a money coach for that crowd.  I talk with her about everything from setting up bank accounts, to our attitudes towards money, to buying shoes guilt free.  There’s a lot in here for every business owner regardless of their craft.  Listen in.

Timestamps:

00:18- What a “Money Coach” does.

06:36- Pay Yourself

12:00- Reprogramming the ways you talk about money

23:28- Bank Account Architecture

29:08- Revenue rollercoaster

33:30- Picking your banker

39:27- Business is a different skill

Want more from Jen?  Visit her site or on social media:

Website: https://www.dollardivas.org/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenpaterson.biz/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Nobody wants to feel like they’re being sold.  Nobody wants to feel pressured or have useless information thrown at them. This is why it’s important to be thoughtful about how you design the flow a prospect goes through on their way to giving you money. 

When his clients need help navigating the build of that process, James Hipkins takes their hand and dives deep.  James and his team have been building large, corporate websites for 10 years and he’ll tell you the hard part is all the work you do before you start designing things.  More recently James’s focus has turned to small businesses where he believes a lot more help is needed.

I talk to him about the things you SHOULD be thinking about when you design your website (hint: design is waaay last), not building on rented land, the cookie strategy, and a lot more.  

Want more from James?  Visit him site or on social media:

Website: https://red8interactive.com/

FB:https://www.facebook.com/inn8ly/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/inn8ly/

Linked: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshipkin/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhipkin/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Brandon Cockrell was a salesman knocking on doors in 100-degree heat in Georgia in a suit.  That taught him that digital sales is pretty great. Today his team builds digital sales systems for companies that need people to sign-up, opt-in, book-now, or buy today.  His wholehearted adoption of technology as a way to drive revenue has given him a lot to say and I talk to him about the “when?”, “how?”, and “how much?”

Timestamps:

02:37- Help an “Ops-Gal” get started with her sales funnel.

09:37- Proving out the hard stuff in your sales process

14:03- What ROI should you expect when you market?

24:20- TikTok

30:21- How many touchpoints for a conversion to a sale?

34:04- The value and trouble with organic reach

Want more from Brandon?  Visit his site or on social media:

Website: https://www.linchpinsales.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/linchpinsales/?hl=en

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

This is a great episode!  Christina Lenkowski is a veteran public relations expert. She’s worked for big companies like Cirque du Sole and Dark Horse Comics but what she’s discovered is that podcasts are the most effective form of publicity.

Now she helps her clients go from “Best Kept Secret” to “Go-to Expert” by raising their voice on other people's platforms.   There’s a lot here as Christina shares how she gets her clients on 24 shows a year, how you can make it easy for show hosts to book you, and ways you can use the content you generate from appearances.

Timestamps:

02:02- What working remotely tells you about yourself.

04:56- The value of being a podcast guest

12:14- Share that content over and over

19:11- Anderson Cooper is not coming for you.

20:11- Pitching to podcasts

24:38- The first paragraph of a pitch to a podcast

29:15- Missteps when you pitch a show

32:23- You have to be visible to grow

36:36- It takes time to get on shows

43:16- Repurposing your interview as evergreen content

Want more from Christina?  Visit her site or on social media:

Website: https://www.publicityxchristina.com/

Quiz: https://www.publicityxchristina.com/quiz-landing-page

FB: https://www.facebook.com/publicityxchristina

IG: https://www.instagram.com/publicityxchristina/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

Amazing guest this week! Debra Joy is on her fourth business.  One was sold, another went public, and one went nowhere.  For the last 15 years she’s been a coach to entrepreneurs, executives, and creatives so they can achieve success with less stress.

We talk about the effects high stress can (and does) have on our bodies, the power and hazard of goal setting, and how leaders can unconsciously create traumatizing environments at work.  Debra talks about helping clients achieve big things.  She also talks about using the journey to become the kind of person you want your goals to make you. 

Timestamps:

00:23- Somatic experiencing practitioner?

03:06- ...but all I wanted was to fix the world.

09:07- choosing when to overdue it

10:57- the goal VS. why they want the goal

14:49- A somatic practice as a perspective in coaching

18:06- Work as a traumatizing environment

23:30- habits

27:19- Kelly gets coached.

You can Find Debra here:

Website: http://www.debrajoy.me/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/withdebrajoy

IG: https://www.instagram.com/debrajoy_coach/

Linked: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debrajoy/

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Ana Natkins had a career in the corporate world. There she developed and strengthened her natural ability to look at complicated workflows and break them down into small, digestible pieces. Today she runs Anna's Simple Solutions, where she and her team use those skills to help overwhelmed, neurodivergent business owners simplify their processes and increase productivity through the use of technology.

In this conversation I talk with her about the tools she uses, her love for Clickup and Airtable, and some basic things to remember about the neurodivergent and how they sometimes work.

Timestamps:

01:23- Neurodivergence in the workforce.

06:24- Mom + Entrepreneur = Guilt

12:45- Setting up your company so that your people can thrive.

15:25- Two Ops nerds geek-out on Airtable

25:00- Ana’s networking database is on steroids

ANA's Links:

Website: https://www.anasimplesolutions.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AnaSimpleSolutions

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anasimplesolutions/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ananatkins/

Need help from Kelly?

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Laura Sinclair started her career in corporate social media at a time when corporations left “that social stuff” to interns. It didn’t take forever for her to get good and to realize that she could go out on her own.  In 2014 she left corporate and bought a failing business which she swiftly turned around so dramatically that it was generating more money each month than she paid for it.

Forced to close a brick and mortar business during lockdown, Laura now shows other business owners how to market themselves and get on the same upward trajectory.

We talk about dumb ways to waste $10,000, working while scared, keeping yourself in the right mindset, how a lot of marketers make things more complicated than they need to be, and a great deal more.

Timestamps:

01:02 - Luxury auto to gym owner to marketer.

06:26 - $10,000 down the drain

09:42 - Marketing from Desire not Pain

15:16 - Confidence and fear

23:10 - Jazzed for January

25:00 - Marketers make marketing complicated

31:15 - Sales > # of Followers

40:10 - Yuckiness in sales

Want more from Laura?  Visit her site or on social media:

Want help from Laura?

Visit: www.laura-sinclair.com

Or on IG: https://www.instagram.com/itslaurasinclair/

Need help with your small business or agency? Contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

Jessica Armstrong is the owner of TC Created, a service agency that supplies realtors with transaction coordinators so they can spend their time in front of buyers and sellers.  In this episode, Kelly and Jessica discuss how starting a business is a journey of self-discovery, how challenging it is to be objective when you delegate work to others, and how success in business has let Jessica to coach others.

If you need help with your small business or agency contact the Reynolds Online Agency:

http://www.reynoldsobm.com

To get on the waiting list for Kelly’s group coaching program click here:

http://www/reynoldsobm.com/gyat

Join Kellys’ facebook community here:

https://www.facebook.com/reynoldsobm/

Thanks to Jessica for joining us!  If you’d like to contact her try her site:

www.tccreated.com

To follow her on IG follow:

https://www.instagram.com/tccreated/

Timestamps:

2:19- Starting a business is a journey of self discovery

7:40- Important things to think about when you hand off work to your team.

12:22- How Jessica’s coaching practice is a result of trauma and generosity.

23:16- Getting salespeople to buy your service