What Works | Small Business Podcast With Tara Mcmullin

The Nitty Gritty * How Jennifer’s creative entrepreneurial journey influenced the creation of Sister and Feminine Business School * What led Jennifer to transition from solopreneurship to a brand that’s bigger than her — and how collaboration sets the foundation for Sister * The practical and foundational values of creating and formulating a feminist business * Why you should see your business as a partnership and some of the tools Jennifer uses to connect students with their business’ “spirit” Do you think there’s a better way to approach your work than just hustling hard? Jennifer Armbrust, founder of Sister and Feminist Business School, would argue there’s a more feminine way to build and grow your business. In this episode of What Works, Jennifer walks us through what a feminine economy looks like, how to use those values to guide your business decisions, and tools for working on your business in a holistic, healthy way for work/life balance. Jennifer also discusses her experience with growing from a s

The Nitty Gritty * Why Michael created Buzz, a rock-and-roll infused sandwich shop on wheels * How he infused his personal values into Buzz — and how those values extend into the culture of the company * Everything Michael learned from taking the B Impact Assessment * How becoming a B Corp positively impacts Buzz, its employees, and the community * What running a responsible business means to Michael Today on What Works, we welcome Michael Sirianni, owner of Buzz, a mobile rock-and-roll inspired sandwich shop serving the Lancaster, Pennsylvania community. But Buzz is about so much more than egg and cheese sandwiches: as a B Corp certified business, Michael runs his restaurant-on-wheels a bit differently than most. Listen to the entire conversation with Michael to hear all the details on what B Corp certification is, why sustainability is an important foundation for running any business, and how the B Corp certification benefits Buzz, its employees, and the community. We release new episodes of What Works e

The Nitty Gritty: * Marie shares the role customer interviews have played in the evolution of her online learning software product, Doki * How automation plays an important role in how Marie and her partner manage their workload without assistants or contractors * What enables Marie to balance managing her business with outside pursuits like rock climbing and permaculture On this episode, I’m caught up with Marie Poulin, the co-founder of digital agency Oki Doki during another live recording of the podcast. Marie is a designer and digital strategist who helps small business owners translate their 1:1 services into profitable digital products and programs. She co-founded Oki Doki with her partner Ben, and together they run Doki, their platform for delivering online learning experiences. When she’s not working with clients, you can find her climbing rocks or playing in the garden. On a personal note… One of the personal goals that I set for myself this year was: “Spend at least as much time mastering techniq

The Nitty Gritty * What prompted Carlos to shut down a thriving digital agency to start The Happy Startup School * What happiness as a business model looks like — and how Carlos teaches that model to others * Why Carlos includes an application process for his in-person events, plus the four main elements he always follows to produce a great event * How Carlos and his business partner Lawrence turned an idea for in-person conversations in unique places around the world into their retreat, Alptitude Carlos Saba is an agency owner turned community builder — and his focus? Happiness. Through his work with The Happy Startup School and his retreat, Alptitude, Carlos is sparking conversations around building a life and business rich in purpose. In this episode of What Works, Carlos digs into why he left agency life behind, the importance of starting conversations with like-minded people, giving yourself space to think up new ideas, and how to turn a dream into reality. We release new episodes of What Works every

The Nitty Gritty: * How Michelle created the “3 Word Rebellion” framework that brings her new client leads * Why Michelle uses a free consultation to book new clients * The importance of Being Boss’s Chalkboard Method for knowing how many clients she needs at any time * How Michelle has optimized her schedule to make 1:1 client coaching more sustainable In this episode, I catch up with Dr. Michelle Mazur (episode 53) for another special LIVE episode of the podcast! Michelle founded Communication Rebel on the belief that communication changes the world. To do that, Michelle helps business owners, executives, and thought leaders craft their 3 Word Rebellion, their speech, and their positioning and pricing so they can get booked. The speakers she works with have generated incredible results like booking a $10,000 speaking gig, raising 3x the amount of money expected for the launch of a charity, and becoming an international speaker in front of world leaders. She lives in Seattle with her adoring husband, 3 ob

The Nitty Gritty * The breaking point in Lisa’s life that inspired her to turn to herbalism for answers — and why she decided to study herbalism deeper * How Lisa manages her job as a spaceship builder and her herbalism clients * What specific strategies Lisa uses to plan and optimize her daily and weekly tasks * Who, exactly, Lisa works with through her herbalism business — and how she balances client sessions with the unpredictable needs of spaceship building Lisa Akers is both a spaceship builder and herbalist (really!) While this might sound like an unusual duo, Lisa demonstrates just how closely the two are related — and how she balances working as an engineer and working as an herbalist. In this episode of What Works, Lisa shares how she connects engineering and herbalism, what’s so magical about herbalism, and how she optimizes her week around the energy available to her. We release new episodes of What Works every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode. What drew a spaceship enginee

The Nitty Gritty * Why Michelle Fifis consolidated her offers into her membership program, the Textile Design Lab * The steps Michelle took to achieve greater profitability focusing on doing less and more meaningful growth * What parameters Michelle uses to decide whether a new marketing opportunity is worth pursuing–or just a time suck * The brand partnership Michelle has leveraged to increase her reach, get paid, and amp up her brand’s visibility * How Michelle’s team has evolved to support the focus she’s created in her business–and what her next steps are with hiring Today, I’m catching up with Michelle Fifis for a special episode of What Works that we recorded live on Crowdcast. Michelle is the creator of Pattern Observer, a blog all about surface design, and the founder of The Textile Design Lab, a community and education space for emerging and established surface designers. After leaving her corporate textile design job in 2010, Michelle wanted to keep her momentum going, stay up with the trends and

The Nitty Gritty * Why Ali’s new brand message is all about shifting the way her clients see themselves * How she draws a connection between health and politics — and positions her opinion in a way that her ideal customers breathe out: “finally, someone gets it!” * What writing exercise she used to inform her new website copy (and exactly what her company’s new position is) * Why you should always ask your customers for feedback, plus the exact process Ali used to choose a logo that spoke to them In this episode of What Works, we welcome Ali Shapiro, MSOD, certified holistic health counselor, and founder of Truce with Food® to talk about her recent rebranding and repositioning of her business. We cover everything from what she’s learned as a health coach and her own experience with cancer as a teenager, to the importance of using customer feedback to inform branding decisions, to bringing politics into your business as a way to truly serve your customers. Listen to this episode to learn more about Ali’s he

The Nitty Gritty: * Why Lacy is producing fewer “how to” articles and, instead, focusing on “riffing” on the leading edge of content marketing thought leadership * How she’s developing a process for asking for referrals after realizing her top clients come through that channel * Why her priorities have changed when it comes to growing her email list–and why she’s stopped using content upgrades to find new subscribers * How she makes sure none of the work falls through the cracks even as her client load and her team has grown Today, we’re catching up with Lacy Boggs in a special episode recorded live on Crowdcast. Lacy is a content strategist and Director of The Content Direction Agency, which helps online small business owners communicate and connect with their audiences through authentic, organic, and values-driven content. Lacy has been honing her business model, adjusting her own content marketing strategy, and growing her team over the last year. Figuring out what’s not working is just as important as

The Nitty Gritty * The four reasons why Emily and Kathleen, co-hosts of the Being Boss podcast, chose to traditionally publish their first book, Being Boss, instead of self-publishing (and how they weighed the pros and cons of each) * What the collaborative process looked like behind-the-scenes for them, from writing sessions over Zoom to in-the-moment editing * The multiple marketing channels they’re using for the book launch from traditional methods like radio and T.V. to community-focused methods like launch teams made up of passionate Being Boss supporters and more. Today on What Works, we welcome back Emily Thompson, founder of Indie Shopography, co-host of the Being Boss podcast, and co-author of Being Boss: Take Control Of Your Work + Live Life On Your Own Terms. Emily graciously takes us behind the scenes of co-writing her first book, including what she considered when choosing between traditional and self-publishing. She also shares the process behind writing the book together with Kathleen Shanno