Streamlined Solopreneur: Tips to Help Busy Business Owners Save Time

Context is everything. It’s easy to think that if you have a salesperson who’s actively frustrating potential clients to the point where they never consider hiring you, you’d fire that salesperson. But what if your website is doing it? Would you fire your website?

You should. That’s why I’m SO excited to have Monica Pitts on the show today. She’s going to tell us how we can save HOURS per month by making our website a member of our team (sound familiar?). We spoke for over two hours – and you’re getting the best parts of it. We cover everything from mindset to automation, and of course, we cover tools.

Top Takeaways

• Your website doesn’t need to just be a brochure site – it can actually take work off your plate. This is why you need to treat it like an employee, not just a static asset.
• Be cautious about relying too heavily on third-party automation tools like Zapier. Consider native integrations first for faster processing and a better user experience.
• A website is crucial for your business. It offers a reliable source of information compared to social media platforms and serves as a long-lasting marketing approach. Social Media is great to show people you’re alive, but you need a website to attract customers.

Show Notes

• Monica Pitts
• Gravity Forms
• Formidable Forms
• ConvertKit
• Active Campaign
• Great Things Require Time
• Why You're Leaving Money on the Table with Email Automation with Kronda Adair

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/streamlined

I know this is going to sound like an Italian stereotype, but my mother makes the best chicken cutlets. They are thin cuts of chicken, perfectly breaded and seasoned, and taste amazing hot and cold.

I’d watch her in hopes of learning how to make them as well (or at least close to it). She’d tell me things like, “You just know how much breading to use,” and “cook them until they look right.”

What she didn’t do was walk into the kitchen and get paralyzed over which pan to use, or the perfect wooden spoon for the job. She’d get right to work.

As solopreneurs, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “this tool will get me back on track,” but it’s often your mindset that needs adjusting first. That’s why today I’m talking to Rashelle Isip, The Order Expert. Much like me, she helps business owners be more productive and less stressed. But while I’m an implementer, she focuses more on mindset and taking a look at everything going on in her clients’ lives.

Top Takeaways

• Take a step back to evaluate the systems in place and reassess how they impact daily routines and overall life. This is crucial to putting the right system in place, and not just copying someone else’s, which won’t work for you.
• When adopting new tools, approach them with curiosity and intentional limitation to assess their effectiveness in streamlining systems, getting organized, and maintaining focus.
• Maintain a positive mindset, adapt to unexpected setbacks with flexibility, and remember to be forgiving and gentle with yourself when things don't go according to plan.

Show Notes

• Rashelle Isip
• The Green Zone Conversation Book

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/streamlined

There's an old adage in construction that you should measure twice and cut once. The idea being that cutting is a permanent action. If you cut a piece of wood, you can't put it back together. So you should measure where you're cutting, make sure you're measuring it right, and double-check your work before you take that permanent action.

Now on the Internet, things aren't necessarily as permanent. Sure. Things that are online could be online forever. But as far as setting up a YouTube page or a podcast or a website, well, you can change them pretty easily. I just kinda made a decision and I ran with it. And now I'm kind of regretting that decision.

But because nothing is permanent on the Internet, I am rectifying that.

Top Takeaways:

1. When rebranding your YouTube channel, focus on creating a clear and specific mission for your content. This will help the YouTube algorithm understand and recommend your content to the appropriate audience.
2. Regularly review your analytics to see which videos are performing well and update those thumbnails and descriptions to optimize visibility. The title and thumbnail have the biggest impact on click-through rates.
3. Consider the performance of your top videos and use that information to guide your content strategy. If specific topics or types of content are consistently performing well, consider creating more content around those topics to leverage your existing success.

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/streamlined

I’m currently reading Stories that Stick by Kindra Hall. In it, she mentions that “story” has become such a common term that people use it for everything, even if it’s not a story.

I feel the same thing has been done to the term “repurposing.” See, when you repurpose something in the real world, you take it, you make changes to it, and you give it new life. You don’t just lop a piece off of it and say you’ve repurposed it.

But that’s what many people consider repurposing today. “I’m going to clip 1 minute of this 60-minute conversation and call it repurposed.”

That’s why I’m excited to have Greg Wasserman on the show today. He helps us reframe repurposing, and talks about how AI can help us repurpose properly – and while I don’t agree with everything he says, I like exploring different ideas.

Top Takeaways

• Repurposing content isn’t just turning current content into other content. It’s taking conversations and turning them into content, products, and more.
• Get creative! Greg uses his coaching calls and repurposes them into courses. How can you take conversations you’re having and leverage them to get something tangible for your business?
• When it comes to leveraging AI, consider your creative comfort. Some people are more comfortable writing. Some feel better talking it out. Integrate AI into your current and best process!

Show Notes

• Greg Wasserman
• lu.ma
• Discovering What Customers Really Want with Georgiana Laudi
• Why Podcast Interviews are a Content Goldmine with Tom Schwab
• Grammarly
• Castmagic.io

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/streamlined

After 8 years, I'm changing the name of this podcast from How I Built It to Streamlined Solopreneur. Here's why.

You can learn more at https://streamlined.fm

The first documented parachute jump happened in the late 1700s, when André-Jacques Garnerin just from balloons at “only” 2000 feet. He no doubt prepared for this moment, testing his parachute and doing everything he could to mitigate risk. Today, skydiving is a sport and a recreational activity, with a lot of safety measures and technology to further mitigate risk.

Why am I telling you this? Because human beings are, by and large, risk-averse…so doing everything we can to reduce it is incredibly important. When it comes to launching a business, it, much like skydiving, is much less risky than it was 200 years ago.

Part of that is the ability to create applications – and therefore launch software-based businesses – without code. That’s exactly what Karla Fernandes is going to talk to us about today. And she should know. She’s launched over a dozen native apps, without writing a single line of code.

Top Takeaways

• When evaluating business ideas, prioritize those that solve user problems and gauge interest through pre-sales and feedback from friends, ensuring a user-centric approach and viability.
• Use no-code tools for faster product development, which allow you to validate, test, and iterate quickly.
• With no code solutions, you can test multiple product ideas simultaneously without significant investment, helping to hedge your bets and validate ideas quickly and affordably.

Show Notes

• Karla Fernandes
• Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan
• Native App: Figma
• Bravo Studio
• Airtable

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/howibuiltit

Today we have a good old fashioned feed drop from my friends at The Podcast Host, and their show, Podcraft.

What really makes someone a successful podcaster? Is it a certain number of episodes, downloads, or reviews? Is it whether content creation has become their full-time job? Or could it be because they’ve been recognised with a prestigious award?

That's what they'll discuss on this episode, and every episode this season.

I hope you enjoy!

Check out Podcraft wherever you listen.

I love shuffling poker chips. In fact, I love playing poker…but there’s a fallacy in gambling that can get you into a lot of trouble. It’s the fallacy of sunk cost. Basically, you think you should continue what is ultimately a losing battle because you’ve already invested some amount of money in the pot.

The same thing can be applied to lots of stuff. Have you ever finished a book or a movie you didn’t like just because you started it? That’s the fallacy of sunk cost.

And I’m happy to say that 4 months into 2024, I successfully avoided that fallacy with something that, in January, I was all-in on: my “Be Everywhere” Strategy.

Show Notes

• My Experiment with Substack and Being “Everywhere”
• Taking a bet on Substack’s Network Effect with Nathalie Lussier
• Why I’m Killing my Membership
• Podcast Workflows

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for at memberful.com/howibuiltit

I remember touring a Murano Glass factory on my honeymoon to Italy. Basically as soon as we stepped foot into the place, a man giving us the tour had us pegged. So when it came time to sell us something, he didn’t just ask us if we wanted to buy some glass art.

He painted us a picture of a unique conversation piece that we can put in our home, to help us remember this time at the beginning of our marriage. To turn into a family heirloom for when we have kids and grandkids. He wasn’t selling us glass. He was selling us a vision of our future. And it worked like gangbusters.

So how can we do that for our customers? That’s what Georgiana Laudi is here to talk to us about. She is the co-author of Forget the Funnel, a book that had a profound effect on my business – and today, we’re talking all about jobs to be done, research, and capturing the voice of our customers.

Top Takeaways

• Understand the "Jobs to Be Done": Customers aren't buying products themselves, but rather the solutions the products offer. Identify the specific jobs your product or service helps customers accomplish.
• Capture the Voice of the Customer: Conduct customer interviews to capture actual language and patterns from customer conversations.
• Continuous Customer Research: Regularly conduct foundational research every 6-12 months and ensure it's continually validated based on industry shifts.

Show Notes

• Georgiana Laudi
• Georgiana on Forget the Funnel
• What are Jobs to be Done?
• Demand Side Sales
• Forget the Funnel
• How to be a Scrappy Researcher (to Actually Sell Products) with Becky Pierson Davidson
• Copyhackers
• Forget the Funnel Podcast

Sponsors:

• Check out Liquid Web
• Memberful: Get your free trial for atmemberful.com/howibuiltit

My grandfather came to the United States from Italy in 1949 and worked in New York City for much of his life — primarily in construction. For as long as I can remember, he had this big, metal toolbox. And when he passed away, he gave it to me, and I still have and use it to this day.

Pop had that toolbox for decades. When he found something that worked for him, he held on to it and took care of it. There’s a hammer in there that has to be as old as I am.

And when you think about it, the hammer is a pretty good analogy for our digital tools. It’s a basic device, but there are countless variations, purpose-built for specific tasks. Much like a task manager or notes app, you mostly know what you’re getting — but you may want something a little more specialized for your needs.

While you don’t want to change tools all the time, it is good to evaluate your toolset from time to time. So I thought I’d check in and share the tools I’m using.

Show Notes

• Tools Check-in: What am I using so far in 2024?
• Tools for Podcasters (Podcast Workflows)
• When Do You Burn All of Your Processes Down and Start Over?
• My Stream Deck: How I’ve Configured it for Maximum Productivity and Production
• Become a Member
• Tools mentioned:
  • Notion
  • Riverside.fm
  • Descript
  • ScreenFlow
  • iZotope
  • Castmagic
  • Things 3
  • Bear Notes
  • Fantastical
  • Calendly
  • Mimestream
  • Timery
  • Arc
  • ChatGPT
  • Raycast

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