Episode 126: The Recap: August 2018

It’s recap time, and we’re diving into what happened in August here at Small Business Boss. We’re talking about a month that was a bit of holding pattern with Scoop Studios and moving things ahead with Small Business Boss.  Let’s do this.

August was a bit of a mixed bag. Lots of ups and downs. It’s like Summer came late, and we had a bit of an unexpected lull.

Continuing on my summer plans to have more fun, I took more than a week off and had lots of downtime. In fact, my e-reader tells me I read for 54 hours this month…and in case you were wondering, I hit the 100 book for the year mark in August.

That reading and my time off made me realize I’ve been standing in my own way a lot in the business, so I recruited Sara to help me. We took a day in Mid-August to go through all things Scoop Studios and SBB and figure out a better way to work.

In short, I got fired from a lot of things, and it’s been refreshing. Truly. I have more and more space to do the work of growing the businesses and to create. Honestly, I’m a bit giddy.

Scoop Studios

• After a really rocking and rolling July, August was a bit flat new business wise. We had two new clients sign on for projects, but the flow of leads was well….concerning.
• I share that with you because part of working with clients is an up and down flow of leads and there’s definitely a mindset issue that goes with it.
• For me, I had to have a chat with myself about the time of year and that things would resolve themselves in September. And that definitely has turned out to be true…but more on that in a future recap!
• As for the goal to add $10k/month in monthly recurring revenue, it’s still going to be a push. We may not make it, but it’s pushing me to really up my lead gen game — especially my follow-up.
• Our new resource on the writing side of things has been a major success. I’m thrilled that we have this help, and speaking of contractors, that was one thing Sara kicked me in the ass about.
• She’s now going to play a bigger role with being the main point of contact and managing contractors for the agency. Which, honestly, is a relief, because until now I worried about being hit by a bus. Now the show can go on without me!
• And agency wise, we had some churn with clients, with one of our fave clients pulling back on their work with us. It’s temporary, but it’s a good reminder that clients aren’t forever and you need to stay on top of your marketing and finding clients.
• This and the slow lead flow put me in a bit of funk at the end of the month, but I had to have a chat with myself and get my act together.
• So, if you have those moments, just know it’s normal. But you need to pick yourself up and keep going.
• Your success isn’t about the good things, but more what you do when things aren’t awesome. Recognizing how you’re feeling — and then addressing it — can go a long way.
• Finally, we’re working on a new service for the agency that we’ve been testing out quietly with some of our clients, and I’m completely stoked about this option. (And it’s for the real small business boss, so you’ll be hearing more of it in months to come!)

Small Business Boss

• This month, we launched mentoring, sharing it with our email list and the Small Business Boss Squad.
• What was great about this was that the people applying were people that I didn’t know. They were new names and that was exciting as it means we’re growing!
• I’m really excited about the people who’ve said yes to mentoring and working with them this fall.
• Being a part of their journey and supporting them moving ahead is so rewarding to me — and exactly the point of Small Business Boss.
• And with that…mentoring is going to be closed until 2019, as really, there’s only so many people I can support at one time and still provide an amazing experience.
• As part of my quest to be seen, I did a few guest interviews on other people’s podcasts, and I have more booked for September. It’s taken a while for the PR outreach to come to fruition, but it’s been worth being patient!
• I decided to re-open the Society — and if you’re listening to this in real-time in September 2018, you can join us. Click here to get all the details.
• The Small Business Boss Society is a membership community for service business owners.
• A little background, earlier this year, we decided to close the Society in order to make some updates and changes.
• One of the things I was struggling with was the idea of creating new content each month, which while valuable and useful to members, it was creating work for them.
• In some ways, that goes against the vision for the society which is about the right actions at the right time for your business — not just mindlessly doing more and more learning and training as busy work.
• Brit and I had planned to re-launch the Society in the Spring, but then with her departure, I put that on hold until the dust settled.
• I am so glad I did as this is the right time, and I’ve made the decision to add to the training/support offered — moving away from monthly content releases to focus on ACTION.
• Each quarter, we’ll have a Quarterly Planning session to create your Success Map for the next three months. (Plus, I have plug and play Success Maps you can use to get started!) You’ll get real-time input on your plan, and we’ll gather each month to help you stay accountable. Of course, there’s training available as you need it and the amazing community too.
• Best of all, it’s priced affordably! I love that I can offer a lower cost option for you to get more of Small Business Boss and that I have something to offer throughout the year in between the enrollments for the Double It Mastermind.
• Again, details are here, and I hope you’ll consider joining us in the Society.