The Care And Feeding Of Your Authority Business

Deciding what checklists, systems and automation make the most sense for you.How to determine where your time has the most value (and let go of what you can).Knowing if/when you’re ready to outsource any tasks—and why you want to understand the process and potential outcomes before you hand them off.How to think about and plan the financial side of your business so it’s serving you (vs. the other way around).Quotables”The automation that I have now began its life as checklists.”—JS“There are five areas where you can have systems and checklists—where you want to pay attention to your business and the underlying systems.”—RM“It gives you a chance to step back and be like, is everything I'm doing here adding value? Especially the really hard stuff—is that adding value?”—JS“It (making checklists) also gives you better insight into how much time you're spending running your business.”—RM“Have a really simple, straightforward (selling) system that is as easy as it can be…that you're comfortable with, so it doesn't make you cringe.”—JS“It's really easy to let the selling go when you have a thorny client problem. Having a system—with checklists—is really important to keep your pipeline full.” —RM“The stuff that you do to keep your marketing machine operating on a regular basis can be very small—like it doesn't need to be overwhelming.”—JS“This is where you ask, so do I want a 401k? Do I want some kind of a retirement plan inside my business? What are the best options for me?”—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

The Care And Feeding Of Your Authority Business

Deciding what checklists, systems and automation make the most sense for you.How to determine where your time has the most value (and let go of what you can).Knowing if/when you’re ready to outsource any tasks—and why you want to understand the process and potential outcomes before you hand them off.How to think about and plan the financial side of your business so it’s serving you (vs. the other way around).Quotables”The automation that I have now began its life as checklists.”—JS“There are five areas where you can have systems and checklists—where you want to pay attention to your business and the underlying systems.”—RM“It gives you a chance to step back and be like, is everything I'm doing here adding value? Especially the really hard stuff—is that adding value?”—JS“It (making checklists) also gives you better insight into how much time you're spending running your business.”—RM“Have a really simple, straightforward (selling) system that is as easy as it can be…that you're comfortable with, so it doesn't make you cringe.”—JS“It's really easy to let the selling go when you have a thorny client problem. Having a system—with checklists—is really important to keep your pipeline full.” —RM“The stuff that you do to keep your marketing machine operating on a regular basis can be very small—like it doesn't need to be overwhelming.”—JS“This is where you ask, so do I want a 401k? Do I want some kind of a retirement plan inside my business? What are the best options for me?”—RM

Kick-off 2023

When it’s time to develop a new strategy (or pivot from the old one).How to use your strategy as a filtering system to evaluate and choose the right tactics.Using themes to focus your activities for the year.Punching through an income plateau with new strategy and tactics.Quotables“It was like I had a team of people that just did what they were supposed to do.”—JS“Your strategy is like a filtering system—there's a gazillion things we can do in any moment but if we're filtering through a strategy, we're much more likely to be productive.”—RM“Tactics without strategy is a disaster.”—JS“You've got this litmus test of the strategy to say, okay, does this tactic align with my strategy?”—RM“A strategy automatically has risk. If your strategy can't fail, it's not a strategy.”—JS“What are your people working on? What are the buzzwords they're using? What are the challenges that they're facing?”—RM“Part of my overall mission does point me to reaching people who are younger and younger. I even have a children's book sketched out that illustrates the insanity of hourly billing.”—JS“If you've been at an income plateau for a while, and nothing you do seems to punch through—that's when you need a new theme for the year to shake up your tactics.”—RMLinksGood Strategy Bad Strategy  

BONUS Clips from Episode 211: Systems, Habits and Creating Time

Clips from Episode 211: Systems, Habits and Creating Time 

BONUS Clips from Episode 219: Time ≠ Money

Full episode:Episode 219: Time ≠ Money

Consulting vs. Coaching

The differences between the opposite ends of the spectrum and how to own any position you choose to claim.How to migrate from one point on the spectrum—selling, marketing, service delivery and authority building—to another.Matching your business and revenue model (including how big an audience you’ll want to attract) to your unique balance between consulting and coaching.Deciding which kinds of transformations matter most to you.The role of advisory retainers in moving across the spectrum.Quotables“It (coaching) feels a lot more like a transformation that you're selling and…it feels more like you're transforming the buyer into thinking a new way.”—JS“You have these opposite ends of the spectrum between consulting and coaching and then there's so many points in between you can own.”—RM“I took baby steps from consulting to coaching because it was like a relatively small number of people paying me a relatively high amount of money.”—JS“I had this philosophy—even when consulting—that the answer wasn't in me. The answer was in the client. And my job was to get that answer out.”—RM“It's really hard for me to imagine ever reversing direction on that spectrum (of consulting to coaching).”—JS“Now my greatest joy is when somebody hits a new level. Watching that dawn on people—midwifing those transformations—that's what I value.”—RM“And they're like, ‘I know I've heard you say this a thousand times, but you said it a little differently this time, and all of a sudden it clicked.’ I just love those because they're so visceral to the reader or the listener.”—JS“Advisory retainers are another option where you can start to straddle the difference between classic consulting (where you're doing) and classic coaching (where you're always there).”—RMThe Experience Economy Episode with Joe Pine

Consulting vs. Coaching

The differences between the opposite ends of the spectrum and how to own any position you choose to claim.How to migrate from one point on the spectrum—selling, marketing, service delivery and authority building—to another.Matching your business and revenue model (including how big an audience you’ll want to attract) to your unique balance between consulting and coaching.Deciding which kinds of transformations matter most to you.The role of advisory retainers in moving across the spectrum.Quotables“It (coaching) feels a lot more like a transformation that you're selling and…it feels more like you're transforming the buyer into thinking a new way.”—JS“You have these opposite ends of the spectrum between consulting and coaching and then there's so many points in between you can own.”—RM“I took baby steps from consulting to coaching because it was like a relatively small number of people paying me a relatively high amount of money.”—JS“I had this philosophy—even when consulting—that the answer wasn't in me. The answer was in the client. And my job was to get that answer out.”—RM“It's really hard for me to imagine ever reversing direction on that spectrum (of consulting to coaching).”—JS“Now my greatest joy is when somebody hits a new level. Watching that dawn on people—midwifing those transformations—that's what I value.”—RM“And they're like, ‘I know I've heard you say this a thousand times, but you said it a little differently this time, and all of a sudden it clicked.’ I just love those because they're so visceral to the reader or the listener.”—JS“Advisory retainers are another option where you can start to straddle the difference between classic consulting (where you're doing) and classic coaching (where you're always there).”—RMThe Experience Economy Episode with Joe Pine LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Predictions for 2023

Planning around the amped up fear about uncertainty—recession, inflation, monetary policy, cryptocurrency, war, politics (just to name a few).The power of building even more discreet and creative niches—and making money from them in new ways while serving people who energize and inspire you.
The birth of a major social media platform that optimizes information exchange within communities—with tighter controls on access.Soloists will keep multiplying, especially those migrating from tech space layoffs and those disenchanted with corporate business-as-usual.We crave connection even more after a long shut-down—we are drawn to those who help us feel connected in our work and our lives.Quotables“There is going to be so much fear about things like recession inflation, monetary policy, war, politics—and it's easy to get sucked into that. But those who don't—those who conquer it—have got the opportunity to up our game and take home a bigger share of the marbles.”—RM“There's a great line from Game of Thrones. There's a character called Little Finger, and he's talking about how the world will be thrown into chaos. And he says ‘Chaos is a ladder’. And it's such a great way to look at it…like it can be good.”—JS“Niching is actually fun because you're finding your people, you're finding the way that you can use your superpower…the next thing you know, your business is full of people who energize and inspire you.”—RM“Another social media related prediction that I'll make is that LinkedIn benefits from all of this bananas on Twitter.”—JS“A reasonable number (of those laid off from tech) will say, you know what? 
I'm done. I'm done with somebody else having control over me…I am gonna do this on my own.”—RM“There's a really interesting development in the AI world called stable diffusion, which turns text prompts into unbelievable 2D images.”—JS“Actuarial valuations were a commodity, but nobody recognized it until somebody decided to start a new firm and change the pricing structure. And then guess what? All the big firms dropped their prices and started to finally look at that data as a commodity.”—RM“If your clients cannot differentiate you from other people who have a similar looking resume in any meaningful way—like they don't see any meaningful difference between you and the next 10 people—then you're on sort of thin ice.”—JS

Behind The Scenes Of Daily Publishing

Why frictionless publishing and distribution is usually the way to go (and what to do when it isn’t).One publishing tech stack suggestion for low friction daily posting and sharing.Working around the downside of automation, AKA how to make sure your posts aren’t riddled with typos.Evaluating alternative social media distribution options.Quotables“It's really important to make this stuff as frictionless as possible so that you can just stick to the really important piece, which is coming up with brilliant new insights and getting them out to the people who are excited to read them.”—JS“I schedule everything that can be scheduled.”—RM“Zapier gives you these little building blocks that you can just drag and drop or select from a list.”—JS“I'm always looking for preset easy ways to do some of this kind of automation without making yourself crazy.”—RM“A relatively new addition to my stack is Grammarly. I installed Grammarly on everything and wow—immediately addicted.”—JS“Cutting and pasting my post into ConvertKit and sending it to myself allows me to see it like the reader does, and I will edit in ways that I wouldn't otherwise.”—RM“If you are just syndicating content to these platforms, your engagement's not gonna be really high.”—JS“Once you've gotten in the habit (of posting) and you're feeling good, then look carefully at the social distribution of what you're doing, because every platform is different.”—RM

Behind The Scenes Of Daily Publishing

Why frictionless publishing and distribution is usually the way to go (and what to do when it isn’t).One publishing tech stack suggestion for low friction daily posting and sharing.Working around the downside of automation, AKA how to make sure your posts aren’t riddled with typos.Evaluating alternative social media distribution options.Quotables“It's really important to make this stuff as frictionless as possible so that you can just stick to the really important piece, which is coming up with brilliant new insights and getting them out to the people who are excited to read them.”—JS“I schedule everything that can be scheduled.”—RM“Zapier gives you these little building blocks that you can just drag and drop or select from a list.”—JS“I'm always looking for preset easy ways to do some of this kind of automation without making yourself crazy.”—RM“A relatively new addition to my stack is Grammarly. I installed Grammarly on everything and wow—immediately addicted.”—JS“Cutting and pasting my post into ConvertKit and sending it to myself allows me to see it like the reader does, and I will edit in ways that I wouldn't otherwise.”—RM“If you are just syndicating content to these platforms, your engagement's not gonna be really high.”—JS“Once you've gotten in the habit (of posting) and you're feeling good, then look carefully at the social distribution of what you're doing, because every platform is different.”—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

What (Not) To Talk About

How your target audience can guide how much you reveal about yourself and/or your politics.Deciding which boundaries and guardrails make sense for you, your work and how you want to roll. The advantage we have as soloists—but don’t always use—when deciding how much of ourselves to share.One technique to deal with clients who have disclosed something distasteful to your core values (but you can’t fire them yet).Quotables“I'm not saying no to (talking about) chicken vindaloo, I'm saying yes to ‘Let's talk about pricing today’.”—JS“If you're doing B2B to big corporates—unless you're running a politically oriented law firm—then you're probably not talking politics.”—RM“I don't know how to build a business or help someone build a business where you really don't care about your clients.”—JS“We’re soloists—we get to decide…we're not working for ‘the man’ getting a salary and having to serve whoever comes in the door.”—RM“Maybe you're not there yet, but you will be able to become increasingly picky over time (about who you take as clients) and it's delightful.”—JS“If you can't say goodbye right now, then you put them on the list—they're the first one that's gonna go, and you'll find somebody else to replace them.”—RM“Just write something that you want to learn a lot more about. Pick that as your central topic, and if you’re really excited to learn more, you don't have to be an expert.”—JS“Think about glass or plexiglass so you can see them, but they can't touch you. That negativity, that thing that you really don't like, can't touch you—that's a technique that therapists use all the time.”—RM

What (Not) To Talk About

How your target audience can guide how much you reveal about yourself and/or your politics.Deciding which boundaries and guardrails make sense for you, your work and how you want to roll. The advantage we have as soloists—but don’t always use—when deciding how much of ourselves to share.One technique to deal with clients who have disclosed something distasteful to your core values (but you can’t fire them yet).RESOURCESRochelle | Email List | Soloist Women | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | TwitterQuotables“I'm not saying no to (talking about) chicken vindaloo, I'm saying yes to ‘Let's talk about pricing today’.”—JS“If you're doing B2B to big corporates—unless you're running a politically oriented law firm—then you're probably not talking politics.”—RM“I don't know how to build a business or help someone build a business where you really don't care about your clients.”—JS“We’re soloists—we get to decide…we're not working for ‘the man’ getting a salary and having to serve whoever comes in the door.”—RM“Maybe you're not there yet, but you will be able to become increasingly picky over time (about who you take as clients) and it's delightful.”—JS“If you can't say goodbye right now, then you put them on the list—they're the first one that's gonna go, and you'll find somebody else to replace them.”—RM“Just write something that you want to learn a lot more about. Pick that as your central topic, and if you’re really excited to learn more, you don't have to be an expert.”—JS“Think about glass or plexiglass so you can see them, but they can't touch you. That negativity, that thing that you really don't like, can't touch you—that's a technique that therapists use all the time.”—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Re-Evaluating Leverage

When automating or outsourcing tasks makes it clear that they don’t need to be done at all.How to evaluate contractors and advisors for signs that they’re saving—vs. costing—you time and money.How to think about out-of-pocket cost vs. your time and the complexity of your business operation.Why you want to periodically re-evaluate your existing leverage and how it’s working for you.The role of your mindset when working with outsiders (or paying their invoice).Quotables“It's usually just making (automation leverage) simpler by shaving off stuff that apparently doesn't need to be there.”—JS“How do you know when you cross the line from leverage saving you money to costing you money?”—RM“In the context of this episode, the question becomes ‘do I even need to hire anyone to do this at all?’ Like maybe I shouldn't even be doing this anymore.”—JS“So it's really being aware of when someone you're handing things off to is making your life more difficult rather than less.”—RM“In re-evaluating places where you create leverage, I feel like systems is the one that's the easiest. If we're talking about SOPs and text documents, they're so fluid and easy to update and super useful.”—JS“Deciding to outsource something—or even thinking about outsourcing—changes how you think about things. Either you don't miss it at all or you ask ‘why was I doing that?’”—RM“Ask: is there a way I can optimize this in a one-time way that will produce ongoing leverage from this money that I'm spending?”—JS“There might be something in there (SaaS upgrades) that we hadn't considered before, that we hadn't known was available that might make our lives so much better.”—RM LINKSRochelle | Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramJonathan | Daily List | Website  | Ditcherville | LinkedIn | Twitter 

Re-Evaluating Leverage

Packaging Your Expertise Differently

Four primary ways to assemble and deliver your expertise—and the pros and cons of each.Shifting your mindset while shifting your service and product packaging, AKA how to move upstream confidently.How to conduct a listening tour of your ideal clients and buyers for focused direction on (re)packaging and price points.Integrating what your audience most wants from you with your genius zone.Quotables“You have this expertise that produces results, but you're used to delivering it in just one particular way… 
How can we come up with some different ways to assemble it and deliver it?”—JS“There’s the fear factor: If you're used to getting $50,000 to build something and now you’ll get $5,000 to outline it, you’re thinking ‘where am I gonna get the other 45,000?’”—RM“If you're an order taker and you disagree with the orders, it's like the world telling you to move upstream.”—JS“Think assessments which allow you to shift your revenue and to productize your knowledge into something that's easier to sell.”—RM“It's not that difficult to add some kind of upfront design or architecture phase to whatever the thing is that you normally build.”—JS“I like listening tours where you're going to people who are your ideal clients, and you're asking them about the biggest problems they're trying to solve—and you find out more about that, so you get a sense of magnitude.”—RM“I like to ask historically, have you tried to solve this in the past? How much money or sleep have you lost because of this problem? Things like that, because they can answer that. Like they are the expert on those questions.”—JS“Instead of just looking to what other people are doing, we have to really understand what our audience wants from us.”—RM