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

#1180 In this special "Where are they now?" edition of AskPat, we're bringing back Julienne DesJardins from JulienneDesJardins.com (originally on AP 1027). She supports business owners through virtual assistant services, email service providers, Squarespace, and social media management. She was first on the show back in 2018, when she was having trouble because she'd met her client limit. She was looking at building out her team and creating an agency, and wanted to know where to take things. We talk about the advice I gave her, how she's taken that advice, and where her business has gone since then. There's a lot of great stuff in here, from nerding out on project management to how Julienne steered her business through the early days of the COVID pandemic. You'll hear all about the great stuff she's done and implemented in the past couple years, so you can hopefully learn how to do something similar in your own business! Show notes and more at smartpassiveincome.com/ap1180.See Privacy Policy at https://art19

#1179 When you discover the niche you should be focusing on, it's like the clouds part—everything becomes clearer. But once you've chosen a niche, how do you communicate the change to your audience without alienating them? Today we're talking with Erica James from Erica James Travel, as well as the Erica James Travel Show Podcast. Erica is a travel agent who's having some issues with niching down. She knows what she's good at and the kinds of services she wants to provide for her travel agency clients, but she's afraid of going about things the wrong way. But thankfully, we go deep and find some possibilities to help Erica make this transition in a way that feels good to her and her customers. There's a moment in this episode where you'll hear things click for Erica, and boom, things are ready to take off. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1179.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1178 Today, we're talking with Heba from Mommy's Happy Hour. Through her book and podcast, she helps women balance a career with raising a family. She's a voice for mommies out there—and she wants to be more of a voice. She wants to lead this community even more. But she's struggling with something that many of us struggle with: how to brand and position herself. How should Heba put herself out there? We discuss some ideas to help her build her reach and presence, including podcast guesting and taking full advantage of the book she's written about the first year of motherhood. We also talk about the importance of macro patience combined with micro hustle. What's that mean? Listen to find out!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#1177 If you're a creative person of some kind, you know what it's like to be in a flow state, so focused on the thing you're working on. That's how you create great art, right? Well, if you treat your business ideas in the same way, you can create something great there, too. Today I'm talking to Chris Fleck, a person of many talents: art, comedy, video production, and more. There's so much he loves to do, and is really good at, but he's a little bit stuck. He has too many business ideas. He's being pulled in multiple directions, and as a result he feels like he's going nowhere. You might be able to relate to Chris, faced with multiple options and not sure which one to pick. You might worry about what'll happen if you choose one path and leave the others behind. How do you make the right choice? That's what we're talking about today. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1177.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf

#1176 Today's guest has a popular website that helps people learn written Chinese, at WrittenChinese.com. She also has a big email list. But despite these resources, she's struggling to put it all together and make best use of what's she's got. She feels like she's "in a life raft in the middle of the ocean with a bag of gold bullion, but there's no land in sight." I help her hone her unique selling proposition, figure out how she can take advantage of ads, and dig into how she might use affiliate partnerships in a smart way. Nora's dilemma doesn't have obvious answers, but there's nothing wrong with a challenge! Together we find some starting points to experiment and see what resonates with her audience so she can effectively monetize her existing website. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1176.Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

#1175 I rarely hear from an entrepreneur who has been through so much but is still smiling at the other end of things. Sarah Murphy, a medical herbalist, is one of those entrepreneurs! Like so many of us during the pandemic, Sarah has had to make a series of pivots with her business. Since she was last on the show in episode 1120, she's dealt with the ripple effect of the pandemic, decreased traffic on her website, Brexit (she's in the UK) . . . even a fire in her manufacturer's warehouse. Yes, really! But Sarah has come out on the other side with flying colors — she even made the decision to launch an online course in the midst of things. Today we're gonna sit down with Sarah and hear all about it. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1175Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

#1174 Hel Reynolds lives in Wales, where she runs a business called Comms Creatives that trains corporate communication professionals to use social media. She's experienced a lot of success already but she's a bit confused as to what to prioritize as she grows her business. This has been a challenge for me personally as a number three on the Enneagram test, so this advice definitely comes from experience. I take Hel through my tips and strategies for prioritizing while still getting to play, particularly my 80/20 rule, avoiding content bloat, and focusing on learning.If you're looking to gain a little more clarity and focus in your business, this is the one for you. I can't wait to follow up with Hel down the road and see where she's at! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1174Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

#1173 Chris Roy runs an amazing company called Doobert.com. Doobert is a technological solution that connects rescue organizations with transportation for rescued animals, foster homes, and more. The only issue is that Doobert needs to bring in more funds to keep running effectively and grow. Chris has tried Google ads and selling physical products, but they haven't quite panned out. How can he increase Doobert's income? We brainstorm a few methods for pulling in some much-needed cash — partnership opportunities, sponsorship opportunities, donation appeals, and more strategies. I can't wait to see how Chris incorporates these ideas! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1173

#1172 This coaching session digs down to one of the core questions of entrepreneurship: How do we combine our passion with monetization . . . and keep it authentic? Jason Lazarus is about to go all-in with his new podcast, The British Blacktrepreneur. He has ten episodes in the cue with a long-term goal of monetizing the show and earning six figures through his business. Where does he start? If you're looking to monetize your podcast, this is the one for you. We go over several ways Jason can use his podcast to earn income, some mindsets and strategies around the process, and how the podcast can help complement other areas of his business. Let's get started. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1172

#1171 Pam Farley has come a long way since she was featured back in episode 1049 (in 2019!). Back then she found that her new content offering wasn't aligned well with what her audience truly wanted. Well, since then she's used email funnels and an experiment with three lead magnets to figure out what her audience really wants—she was surprised by the results! Now, she has some projects in the works around ebooks, courses . . . in fact, she had her best year ever in Q2! Today we dive into some ideas around product deals, where Pam is heading next, her content calendar and publishing cadence, how Covid affected her business, and more. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1171

#1170 Neil Benson runs a business called Customery: he's on a mission to help people learn the Scrum methodology of project management. He has a podcast and regular course sales, but the numbers have been about the same for the last 12 months. In short, the business has stalled a bit. Today I'm going to coach Neil through all things optimization. We'll talk through strategies for using his podcast to hint at the value his course can offer, creating bonus offers, and injecting scarcity to increase students and revenue. By the end of the show, you'll learn a ton about optimizing sales conversion points. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1170

#1169 Joey Chang is a beatboxer, looper, cellist, songwriter, singer, and performer. He's here with a critical question: what's the difference between himself and musicians who are making a ton of money online? How can he better monetize his online music business? We're going to dig in to identify Joey's niche and how to leverage it. I give him advice for taking advantage of current events and trends through "news-jacking" and using YouTube algorithms to bring his music front and center. We also get into courses a bit and I give him some tactical advice for working with a cohort of students to road-test his course. Whether you're a musician or not, there's a ton of great advice in here for anyone who wants to create engaging content or make money teaching their skills online. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1169

#1168 Martin's podcast is now making up 50 percent of his take-home money — the other 50 percent comes from his work as a paramedic. How can Martin take that next leap of faith towards going full-time with his business and podcast, Calming Anxiety? How can he further his brand, and should that include putting his name in the actual podcast name? I challenge Martin to find out what's holding him back and what his plan would be in a few different scenarios, plus offer him some tips for extending his show's reach through YouTube. Martin says he's got a few exciting things in the pipeline, including a brand-new app, so I can't wait to follow up with him again in the future! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1168

#1167 Today's guest is Kara Gott Warner — she was last on in episode 1087 where she had some questions about getting more engagement for her website and her podcast.Well, a lot has happened in Kara's business since then: a life coaching certification, rebranding her podcast, making a shift in her coaching program and business offerings — she's here today to tell us all about it. We also talk about those new offerings and a lot related to mindset as well. This is a great catch-up with Kara so stick around! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1167

#1166 This is a one-of-a-kind episode of AskPat 2.0. For one thing, I'm interviewing a professional chocolate-maker. Yes really — her name is Arcelia Gallardo and she has a chocolate factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Not only does Arcelia have a unique business, but she also has a unique problem: how does she decide what content is written in English, Portuguese, or another language? Her customers are all over the world, so how can she make the ordering process seamless, no matter where someone's ordering from? Arcelia and I are going to brainstorm some solutions, so make sure you stick around. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1166

#1165 Today I'm thrilled to welcome Mark Savant to the show. Mark helps businesses and entrepreneurs create and repurpose digital content and grow their online presence. He wants to grow his revenue streams and convert all the DMs he's getting into agency-style clients, but he feels his messaging might be off.To help Mark out, we're going to unpack his current messaging so we can nail it going forward. We also talk about reconfiguring his offerings to be able to serve customers at different price points and through different mediums (like an online course). Through this conversation, you'll learn a ton about messaging that you can apply back to your own journey. Let's do this thing! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1165

#1164 Peter's business is in the Australian healthcare tech niche — he's got a membership community and a podcast that publishes four times weekly. He also recently decided to go full-time with the venture . . . he's working so many hours and he's starting to burn out a little bit. Let's see if we can help him get closer to equilibrium.Using my own experience and strategies with time management, I encourage Peter to create more discipline in his time blocking so that gaps in working time aren't always immediately filled with more working projects. We talk through a few mindset shifts I had to go through myself so that Peter can hopefully start approaching his work and life more holistically. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1164

#1163 Derek James has a unique business that helps business owners win government contracts, which can be a huge win if done correctly. He has created a ton of resources on this topic, but cashflow isn't quite where he wants it to be. Now he's working hard on his flagship course and he wants it to be a big hit. How can he tip the odds in his favor? Don't miss this one, because you'll hear me coach Derek through strategies for his course launch, from marketing and messaging to price points and more. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1163

#1162 Today we have Lesya Holzapfel from EatBeFitExplore.com — she was last on in episode 1088. In this episode you'll hear about Lesya's hybrid membership/course model, what's working for her, her foray into podcasting, where she's going next, and what advice she'd give herself, looking back at where she was in episode 1088. This is a super-inspiring episode with a fantastic mic drop moment from Lesya at the end. Don't miss it! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1162

#1161 Taking the "big leap" and deciding to go all-in with your business or side hustle can be nerve-wracking. When's the right time to jump? How can you be sure you're set up for success, especially if, like today's guest, you have a little one on the way? Well, that's exactly what Matthew Gawronski, a music teacher from Long Island, New York, is asking today. Although we don't land on a definitive gameplan, there's a ton of food for thought in this one, both for Matt and anyone at a similar crossroads. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/ap1161