Episode 122: The Recap: July 2018

It’s time for another monthly recap, and for the July recap, we’re talking new business, making decisions for Small Business Boss, and more. I’m taking you behind-the-scenes of my content marketing agency and what I’m doing with Small Business Boss.

Ohhhhweeee, July. Well, let’s just say things were rockin’ and rollin’, which I kind of didn’t expect for July because it’s summer.

So speaking of which, I managed to spend over 50% of my time this month at the lake. That was something I couldn’t quite figure out last year, but this year, I decided to go for it. I had a week of scheduled vacation, and then I took advantage of the first week of the month while many of my clients were out of the office to stay up there.

This was made possible by two things. The big one was scheduling my summer in a way that I had most of my calls in a single week. It wasn’t perfect, and that week was a lot, but it really gave me the space I needed to work from the lake and have downtime.

Honestly, doing this may be one of the best things I’ve done for myself in ages. I was able to think through a lot of things business-wise, read a lot of books, and really just enjoy what I’ve created.

That’s not to say it was a slow month. It was exactly the opposite.

Scoop Studios

• So you may recall that in the June recap I shared my goal of growing the agency by $10k in monthly recurring revenue by the end of September.
• Going into the quarter, I knew it was going to be a push to actually make that happen as we’re close to full client wise, but I decided to do it anyway, and figure it out.
• I’m happy to report that in July we signed three new clients. One of them was a rather sizable, time-bound project, which quite frankly, scared the pants off me. I knew we could do it — I just wasn’t entirely sure of the how. After doing some numbers and having a long talk with Sara, I realized that we needed more help with writing, or I was going to have to start spending a lot more time on client writing projects.
• Now, I do some writing, but that’s not really my highest and best use of my skills. I’m much better at setting strategy, client service, and new business development for the agency.
• Props to Sara for laying it out for me in a way that made me realize for us to continue to grow in a meaningful way, we were going to have to do things differently. This is just one way that having your sister as the #2 in the company can really help as she can be frank in a way that other people simply can’t be.
• By the end of the month, we had added additional writing support and have gone through an exercise of tiering our clients, so I have a clearer picture of what’s really needed on moving ahead.
• As part of that exercise, we got MUCH clearer on what types of clients we want moving ahead and realized that while we like bigger traditional SME engagements, we love most working with solo or super small teams the most.
• So if you need help with your content marketing — let’s talk. Seriously, we want more Small Business Bosses on our roster, and we can free up time and space for you to focus on what your highest and best use of your talents are.

Small Business Boss

• Since Brittany left, I’ve been working on a plan for what I want Small Business Boss to be, and I think in the last few days of July, I finally nailed it.
• This was hard because what I want for SBB is bigger than me, and it feels scary.
• I could easily just keep on just offering the mastermind, but admitting I want way more for it and to help MORE people like you, well, that’s a big container.
• As my friend Michelle Mazur said recently — you need to name it to claim it. So I’m naming it. SBB is going to be bigger and better a year from now, and I can’t wait.
• What does that all mean? It means more content for you as a boss, me adding to the podcast in September, AND creating more ways for you to get the help you need as a services boss.
• The other part of this is for me to BE SEEN. Now, overall, I think I do an okay job of this, but it’s not my default.
• Honestly, I think I’m sort of boring, and my business isn’t all that interesting…but here’s what I know.
• Yes, I want SBB to grow, but what’s most important to me is that I’m in community with my audience, which means keeping it real and building something that’s got a soul. To do that, I need to just show you all of me — even the messy, unpolished bits.
• I’m playing with Instagram stories as a way for you to see behind the scenes of my day-to-day and to get to know me a bit better. You can follow that over @smallbusinessboss
• Just know, I don’t have it all figured out, and like you, I’m just focusing on the next right action.