Askpat 2.0: A Weekly Coaching Call On Online Business, Blogging, Marketing, And Lifestyle Design

#1200 I'm excited to bring back another entrepreneur who's been on the show before: Meryl Johnston, the founder and CEO of Bean Ninjas, an accounting service for ecommerce businesses. Meryl was on episode 1,113 , when she was thinking of adding some new services and even creating an all-new brand. Not surprisingly, a lot has changed for Meryl since then. Her business has made some pivots, and she shares some big announcements that I'm excited to share with you. She's even started a family. Oh, and I also have a big announcement to share at the end of this episode. So stick around for that! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1200.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1199 In today's "Where are they now?" episode, David Orozco of OrozcoNutrition.com returns to talk about what's happened for him and his business since our first conversation in episode 1,141. Back then, he was balancing a couple of brands and trying to figure out which one to focus on and how to organize everything he was doing. Since then he's gone through a rebrand and narrowed down his ideal customer avatar. Today we talk about David's recent hires, as well as some strategies you can apply as you move forward and make decisions in your own brand. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1199.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1198 We're finishing up the year with a string of "Where are they now?" episodes to inspire you and get you excited for 2022. These are episodes where we bring back people who I've coached on the show before to talk about where they're at now. Today we're talking with Lela Burris, who is a professional organizer turned blogger. The last time we chatted with Lela, in episode 1,142, she was having some trouble. She was having identity issues related to what she should focus on with her brand. Should she focus on her audience of moms on her blog? Or should she continue her professional work, going into people's homes and helping them organize? Since then, Lela has made some big, clear decisions—and some amazing things have happened for her, which is what we'll be talking about today. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1198.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1197 This month we've been bringing back people who've been coached on the show before to see how things are going. And today we're reconnecting with Jake Gosselin of Churchfront, which helps ministries lead gospel-centered, tech-savvy worship. To this point, Jake's business has centered around a membership program and online course. He also has a popular YouTube channel under the same name. The last time he was on the show we discussed how he could potentially offer another, high-ticket item on top of the membership and course. Today we'll hear how everything's been going since then, as well as a new project Jake's got up his sleeve. Jake references my Pokémon channel, and we use that as a springboard to some crucial topics: how to focus on the things that matter, allocating time appropriately, so we can be there for our businesses and our families. There's lot of great stuff in this episode, and I can't thank Jake enough for coming back to give us an update because, wow, what an update it is. Show notes an

#1196 Today we're talking with Mark Savant, who I interviewed back on episode 1165. Flash forward to today, and Mark is doing such an amazing job. In fact, as Mark tells me, he's made more money in the past three months than he did the past three years! But like many entrepreneurs whose business starts taking off, he's encountered a new set of problems and decision points. The main thing Mark is trying to figure out is how to organize and position his many services: what's the best way to present them so his audience will pick up what he's putting down? Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1196See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1195 All this month, November 2021, we're doing “Where are they now?” episodes. These are my favorite episodes to do, because we bring back people who have been coached on the show before, and learn what they did, what they didn't do, what has happened since. Today we're talking with Rose Griffin, who has a business over at ABA Speech. She is a speech language pathologist who helps so many people, not just through her website at ABASpeech.org, but also through her podcast, Autism Outreach. And a lot of stuff has happened for Rose since the last time she was on the show. She's been making amazing strides in just the two months since we last talked to her. She's overcome the mental block around pricing that was keeping her from upgrading the cost of her evergreen course from $99 to $297. She's been getting into the physical product space. And she has an exciting opportunity related to her podcast that's starting to bear fruit. Oh, and she's even got a little thing going on TikTok. As you'll hear

#1194 Today we're welcoming back Joaquin Elizondo of HollywoodEditingMentor.com. Joaquin helps people break into Hollywood as an editor. There's a lot of people online who teach editing, but Joaquin teaches the business of it and how to actually break into this industry, how to network and develop relationships. Joaquin's doing some amazing things, and he's a mentor to so many people. But he's gotten to a point where he needs some help figuring out his next move. We talk about what's happened for him since he was first on the show, and the struggle he's facing now. Because invariably when you make big decisions and start to grow your business, new problems crop up. And yes, what got you here won't get you there. That's the situation Joaquin is in, and it's what I help him figure out today. Joaquin is an amazing person who's truly in it to help people. We talk about everything from coaching to pricing, to his course, and scaling, and maybe most importantly, doing the work you love. Show notes and more at Smart

#1193 We have another special "Where are they now?" episode today. Our guest was actually one of the very first AskPat 2.0 guests: Cathy Mazak of CathyMazak.com. Cathy is a tenured professor who has a business helping academic womxn find time to write so they can make an impact in their academic field and have a balanced, fulfilled life. (It's spelled that way because, as Cathy says on her website, the business is geared toward helping women as well as non-men and nonbinary folks "change the culture of academia from the inside out.") In just the second episode of the new AskPat 2.0 format, Cathy was in her first year of business. She had a lot of decisions to make, especially around how much money she should be reinvesting in the business. We talk about what Cathy was dealing with back then, and the completely brand new set of problems she's facing. That's what happens when you take action and find success: the problems don't go away. They just change. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.

#1192 Today we've got a great conversation with Mike Lander from Piscari. Mike helps sales and account teams learn how to negotiate through his online courses and consultations. He's been productizing some of his services and started to diversify, but he needs help generating more income from his courses. We discuss not just how to diversify smartly, but how Mike can lean into some of his superpowers and position his digital course to generate more sales. Mike is in the B2B space, which is a little bit different from many businesses that work directly with consumers, but the strategies and principles we talk about can apply to lots of businesses. So if this Mike's situation sounds like yours, I think you're going to find some amazing information in this episode. In fact, at the very end, Mike says, "Wow, Pat, I have five or six takeaways I can implement right away." So I hope you stick around and listen to this episode, because this is one about superpowers. It's about diversification, productizing, and

#1191 Today we're speaking with Tracy Diane Jones, a geologist, author, and owner of the website Mini Me Geology. Not only does her business name have a nice ring to it, but Mini Me Geology is also a great resource for kids, teachers, and parents, to learn more about rocks. And Tracy does literally rock! She helps kids develop a love for geology through the kits, books, and activities available on her website. With the rise in interest in STEM education, Tracy's business was doing pretty well, but then some stuff happened in her personal life. She's been trying to get back on track, but she's finding that the old strategies for growing Mini Me Geology haven't been working so well lately. By the end of our conversation, you'll hear that Tracy pretty much knew what she had to do, but was a little scared or reluctant to embrace and take these necessary steps. So what are those steps? Make sure you listen all the way through to find out! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1191.See Privacy Policy at h

#1190 Today we're talking with Gillian Tietz from Sober Powered. Gillian is an amazing person who's helping loads of people get sober with the help of her scientific background, through her podcast, website, Facebook group, and Instagram. I'm so proud of what Jillian is doing with her podcast and her platform, stepping up, being vulnerable and sharing her own story to help others. It's an amazing example of somebody who has gone through some stuff, who has found a solution, and is learning as much as they can and now wants to pass it forward. However, she's having a little bit of trouble connecting all of the pieces. Namely, her large following on Instagram and Facebook doesn't know her podcast exists or are not convinced enough to click play yet. That's what we're going to talk about today: how do we reduce the friction keeping people from getting from social media to our podcast? Because Gillian knows that when people listen to her show, it's changing lives. You'll hear a lot of good ideas today for drawing

#1189 Time travel is one of my favorite things, and I love to incorporate it into AskPat by bringing people back to see how things have been going. Jackie Bolen of ESLSpeaking.org has actually been a guest on AskPat a couple of times before, in episodes 1003 and 1046. And she's been on an incredible journey. As you'll learn if you listen to her two previous episodes, she started out doing niche websites and helping people with ESL, and then doing some Amazon-focused stuff. She was going to partner with some people who were supposed to take a bunch of work off of her plate, but it didn't quite work out. Today we're going to dive a little bit deeper into what happened there and where things are now, and you're going to see this very nice story arc that Jackie has followed recently. Jackie is doing pretty well now, but she had to go through some messy stuff in the middle to find her way there. As her story shows, sometimes you don't realize how much you miss something or how good you had it until you don't have

#1188 Today we're talking with Stephanie Taylor from the UK. She and her sister have a business together at Rent2RentSuccess.com. That's essentially a way to rent a property from a landlord, then rent it out again. She and her sister teach others how to do this through their course and membership program. Things are starting to take off, but Stephanie is wondering: Now that we're here, how do we get to the next level? When you find a little success online, you might find yourself facing an even bigger challenge than the one that it took for you to get started. Now that you're making money, how do you make sure you don't lose it? How do you grow and scale the business? You have more options now, but you're faced with a fork in the road. How do you make the right decisions and avoid burnout or regret? How do you overcome the fear of success and growth because you're not mentally ready or don't know what to expect? All great questions we're going to tackle today! We uncover a lot of great things here, inclu

#1187 Today on the show we're talking with Rose Griffin from ABASpeech.org. Rose is a seasoned speech therapist who's helped many people. Her specialty these days is helping professionals who work with people with complex speech disorders or autism. She's doing great work, and she's already got a course and a podcast out in the world. So what's she struggling with? Well, she wants to know whether to make her course evergreen, or only make it available at certain times of the year. Should she create some FOMO for her target audience by opening and closing the course at regular intervals? Or is that going to be too much work? We also get into a discussion about pricing. When you get to the moment Rose announces the price of her course, you might already know what I'm going to tell her. But stick around to find out. We really dig into the ins and outs of course launch strategy, as well as the mysteries of pricing (because seriously, pricing is weird). This is a great episode if you've got a course that's doing w

#1186 Today I have the pleasure of talking with Daz Cater over in the UK. Daz manages two different blogs, plus he has a full-time job in construction along with being a husband and dad of two kids, and he's wondering whether or not he can balance it all. This is a really fun conversation, especially because of Daz's main interest and the focus of one of his blogs at retrogamerdaz.com: retro toys and collectibles. (I'll just say that his video background is one of the coolest ones I've seen in all my years of interviewing people.) His other website, nextstopwdw.com, is a Disney travel blog where he offers tips and documents his family's journeys through Disney properties. He's built up a decent following on both sites, but he's feeling stuck. Can he manage both, or should he focus on just one of them? That's exactly what we chat about today. I think you'll get a kick out of this one, especially if you love collectibles, Disney, or both! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1186.

#1185 Today we're talking with Shira Kates from Snapdragon Strategy. Shira has a lot of experience in the corporate world and Silicon Valley. She's done a lot of really cool things, but she's ready for her next phase and wants to try something else. Is it coaching? Is it something else? She's got a few opportunities lined up, but she needs help focusing. She also wants to know how she can move in the direction of creating passive income, to give herself some time back and create balance in her life. Along those lines, Shira wants to know: is passive income even real today? Is it possible to easily create a passive income-driven business anymore? That's a really cool discussion we have, too. We also explore the importance of networking and keeping relationships alive throughout your journey. And on top of that, which is maybe the most important part of my conversation with Shira is, how do you leave a legacy, to your family and others? Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1185.See Privacy Policy at

#1184 Today we're talking with Kathy Walker, who was previously on the show in late 2019. She had won an award—the 2019 North Carolina assistant principal of the year award, and wanted to know she might use this award to get more assistant principals to find her show and build her audience. As you might recall, a lot has happened between late 2019 and now, particularly the COVID pandemic. As an assistant principal, obviously Kathy's line of work was dramatically affected, with the shift to virtual learning and supporting teachers and students through all the changes and challenges. Cool fact: Kathy was one of the regulars on the Income Stream, a 365-day straight live stream I did on YouTube. Kathy came in almost every day and was a big part of the community that built up around the show, and I got to know her and work really well. Today, we'll get a little insight on what life was like as an educator during COVID. And we'll also find out what happened to Kathy's brand and her podcast. I'm excited for you to h

#1183 Today's guest, Kimberly Reynolds, aka Dr. Kimmy of Productive on Purpose, is at a crossroads. She's created a thriving community built around helping women with productivity and overcoming procrastination. At the same time, she's been niching down and coaching women on building businesses and walking in their purpose. The coaching is taking off—to the tune of $50,000 in revenue in just two months. But she's feeling torn in two directions, and knows she can't commit to both focuses. What should she do? Can she find a way to serve both of her audiences? Can she transition away from managing her community without leaving people hanging? She's going to have to start making some pro-level, CEO, executive-type decisions in her business, and Pat is here to help guide her. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1183.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1182 William Barton from BootSpy.com has a really interesting question today. It's one you might have wrestled with in your own business: How do I launch something when I don't have a list or anybody out there who knows that I exist yet? How do I validate this thing? How do I ensure that it's going to work before I put all this time and effort into it? You may be familiar with a little book I wrote called Will It Fly?, which is all about how to test your next business idea so you don’t waste your time and money. We're going to discuss a lot of the principles, strategies, and techniques that I share in that book with William today. If you’re launching something, you want to build that audience and validate your idea first, so let's get into it. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1182.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1181 Wendy Lewis used to work as a writer at a marketing and ad agency. And she's still a writer, but she also has a new passion: reflexology, working with athletes and helping people regain function. She's excited to create her first online reflexology course, but she's feeling stuck. The whole thing seems a little overwhelming to her. I want you to pay attention to how Wendy describes an online course before we start talking about the solutions to making the online course creation process easier for her. Because as you'll find out, things are often a lot easier than we think they should be. And there's a lot of things that I've learned over the years that I pass on to Wendy in this conversation, that I would love to pass on to you as well. So whether it's an online course or something else that you want to create, let's get through it, and let's get through it together. Show notes and more at smartpassiveincome.com/ap1181.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at