Podcast

(Part 2) Where to Find Customers the “New School” Way with Online Marketing

This is Part 2 of “Where to Find Customers”. To listen to Part 1, click here.

You’re home in your yoga pants. You have no intention of doing yoga, BTW.

You press buttons on a computer.

You see your products selling and you watch your daily sales rise.

You prepare to ship the day’s sales.

You smile to yourself and head out to meet a friend for lunch. Because you can.

Not a bad day, right? What if you could be home wearing your yoga pants and KNEW that sales were going to come in? You just knew. Like my client who sent me this message this afternoon:

It’s not easy to make this happen. Not at all. It takes a crap-ton (technical term) of focus, energy, and work. And it often requires money for advertising. Not a huge amount, but definitely some. Starting with $5 – $10 per day.

And please know — I’m not selling you anything today.

Although…in a way, I am selling you an idea. The IDEA that it is possible, and totally do-able, to get all the customers you need, or want, or desire, or whatevs.

I really want you to believe it is POSSIBLE to grow your business as big and profitable (or small, and profitable) as you want.

In today’s episode, we cover how to find customers using the interwebs via online marketing strategies. If you haven’t already listened to Part 1 of How to Find Customers – the “old school” way – please do so by clicking here.

I want THIS to be your reality, just like my client’s. 🙂

“They’re going to sell out today. I can feel it”

Have a listen…

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

Mentioned in the episode:

Imperfect Action monthly coaching membership

What do YOU think?

Have you tried any of these 5 strategies? Would you be willing to get a side job just to meet your ideal customers? I’d LOVE to know so leave me a comment below and thanks!

Jane

P.S. If you’re serious about marketing your brand and getting more sales, more consistently, you have to check out my monthly business coaching program, “Imperfect Action”. Enrollment is limited so if you want IN, go check it out and get on the list. 🙂

Where to Find Customers the “Old School” Way (Part 1)

This is part one of “where to find Customers”. Click here for part two.

I did 2 seminars at a trade show in Chicago recently and I met so many amazing small business owners. For some reason, it felt like they all had a version of the same question.

“Jane, where do I find more customers? How do I find people who can afford my stuff? My friends and family can’t buy my products. What should I be doing? “

Today’s episode runs through 5 specific ways to get customers using “old school” strategies my clients have used to get paying customers. I give you real-life examples of what other fashion designers and creative entrepreneurs have done to get in front of the “right” people. And by the “right” people, I mean people who fit 3 important criteria:

They like what you have to offer
They “get it” and understand the value
They can afford it

Have a listen…

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

Mentioned in the episode:

Imperfect Action monthly coaching membership
Adeline Olmer from French Secrets
Kleinfelds
Part two of “Where to Find Customers” is at this link

What do YOU think?

Have you tried any of these 5 strategies? Would you be willing to get a side job just to meet your ideal customers? I’d LOVE to know so leave me a comment below and thanks!

Jane

Send Emails. Get Money

Last week I did a LIVE presentation about how to turn your email subscribers into actual paying customers. Turns out, you guys LOVED that topic and got a lot out of it. Yay.

Today’s episode sums up the info from the webinar and explains why email marketing is so effective for small business owners and how to do it. For many of my clients (mostly creative entrepreneurs, makers, Shopify store owners, jewelry designers, etc…), it’s the #1 things that drives sales!

And yet, it’s so often pushed aside in favor of Instagram – so much easier to post pics and never have to really ASK for the sale. 😉

I get it, “passive” marketing is so much easier. Posting a blog is easier than sending an email asking for the sale. Curating your IG feed is so much easier than following up with a buyer and risking rejection.

And yet, working SO HARD on social media and “passive” marketing activities won’t get you much ROI unless you complete the sales cycle and actually make people offers to buy stuff.

I get questions about using email all the time:

What’s the best content to offer new email sign ups?
How do I get more people to open my emails?
I have over 600 names on my email list and don’t know where to get started.
I send emails twice a month but almost never get sales. What am I doing wrong?
How often should I send emails if I don’t want to “bother” anyone?
What should I talk about in my emails? I feel silly.

For most small business owners, your email subscribers are your MOST engaged audience and are much more likely to buy than social media followers. And yet, many entrepreneurs drop the ball, do a half baked job, and then claim email is dead.

The truth is, if email marketing isn’t working for you, you’re probably doing it wrong OR you’re sending emails to the wrong audience.

You can also listen on iTunes. Spotify, and Stitcher Radio

Does email really work? Do the math! It’s the gift that keeps on giving…

Mentioned in the episode:

Erika Neumayer, superstar designer and Shopify store owner
List Builders monthly coaching membership

Now I want to hear from you.

How often are you emailing your list? Could you give me an example of what WORKS for you with your business emails? I’d love to your BEST TIP for email marketing.

Thanks for reading and listening,

Jane

P.S. I AM SO EXCITED! The “List Builders” monthly coaching membership is open for enrollment! Registration for new members is only open for a short time, so if you want in, go get it now.

Imperfect Action: Perfect is Good But DONE is Better

We start with an embarrassing story. You see, last Friday my company sent out an email with the exact same subject line as the week before. And it went out to over 15,000 people. Noooooooooooo!!!

Heads will roll! Who’s gonna get fired? WTF people?

I live by one motto,

“Perfect is good but DONE is better.”

And yet, I was deeply embarrassed for this mistake. I mean, I teach email marketing, for godssake! How can I claim to be an “expert” if this is how I do marketing?

And then…I told myself to breathe. Just breathe. I started to look at it another way. More in line with my motto.

In this episode, I’ll show you how taking Imperfect Action is the key to, well, everything. Better business, better sales, and even a better life.

What we cover in this episode:

The power of 86% and what it can do for YOU
My embarrassing story from last Friday
Taking responsibility for screw-ups until it huuuurrrrtttsss
Giving yourself and your business some grace
Whose fault is this? And other stupid stuff we say
My entirely new business model based around Imperfect Action

Here’s an image of the highly IMPERFECT postcard mentioned in the podcast. And yet…my crappy postcard is better than the one you never printed, right?

If you’re interested in the new monthly coaching program, Imperfect Action, click here.

Now I’d love to hear from you. Do you have an “Imperfect Action” story to share? LMK in the comments below and THANK YOU in advance!

Jane

Scaling Her Wholesale Handbag Business & Getting into the Four Seasons Resorts with Jennifer Boonlorn

“The ultimate goal in life is not to become successful or loved, but to become the truest expression of ourselves, to live into authentic selfhood, to honor our birthright gifts and callings, and be of service to humanity and the world.” -Frederix Laloux

This week I’m talking to the AWESOME Jennifer Boonlorn, the founder and designer of Soul Carrier Handbags. Jennifer has overcome extremely tragic circumstances and followed her soul to start Soul Carrier.

She’s scaled her business with a goal of getting her bags into luxury resorts. She is selling in some of Arizona’s most famous resorts including the Four Seasons and the Fairmont. In this episode, we talk about purpose, business operations, the story of a product, scaling to an even BIGGER business, and much more.

I find Jennifer’s story and her amazing outlook on life so inspiring. I hope you do too.

Quotes from the interview:

“Where do you want to go?” (and what that question means for Jennifer)

“My mom turns around, she asked me that question in regards to going where we wanted to go on vacation. But that was the last thing that came out of her mouth before my Dad’s car flipped over, and took my mom’s life. My Dad died several hours later. And so I was like, oh my gosh. Metaphorically, that question was just so powerful that that’s the last thing she said to me and here I am on track to go to law school.”

“I want to go big and have a lot of reach with my business. And so I knew that in order to do that I would need the team and the infrastructure to be able to provide bags, have systems in place, and make it a smooth operating machine.”

“You have to be willing to put in the effort and put in way more hours being in the trenches than those moments where it’s the fancy runway show and everyone’s drinking champagne and it’s all uber fabulous. Those moments come but they’re fleeting compared to everything it takes to get to that moment.”

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

Mentioned in this episode:

Jennifer’s website, Soul Carrier Handbags
Pipedrive – Sales CRM & Pipeline Management System
Frederix Laloux, Reinventing Organizations
The Startup program where Jennifer was a guest, New Designer Program

Now it’s your turn. What’s your ONE BIG TAKEAWAY from this episode? Please be as specific as possible and let’s get the discussion going!

Jane

Doubling Your Daily Orders with Dana Jaunzemis (Part 2)

Today’s episode is Part 2 of the fantastic interview with Dana Jaunzemis – my personal business hero. (If you missed part 1, click here). Dana does things differently in her business – very differently – and the results are insane. In fact, she’s killing it while doing it in a way that’s NOT overwhelming or interfering with her enjoyment of going to work.

Today we talk about how she decides what’s best for her business, how she avoids BSOS (Bright Shiny Object Syndrome), how she does things SO DIFFERENTLY than most entrepreneurs, and how sticks to her decisions.

You’re going to LOVE this episode. Listen to Part 2 of this interview below:

You can also listen to this episode and Part 1 on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

What we cover in this episode:

Making decisions and sticking to them.
Weekly Trend Report – what’s working for her business (and it has nothing to do with style)
When something is working in your business, don’t let it break
Ask yourself, “What are the metrics of success?” – especially if you’re having a BSOS moment
Looking at 2-5 metrics to see what is working and what is not
You don’t have to use EVERY marketing tool out there – just the ones you do well

Mentioned in this episode:

Thanks for listening! LMK in the comments — your ONE TAKEAWAY from this episode. What did you learn??

Jane

Doubling Your Daily E-commerce Orders with Dana Jaunzemis (Part 1)

Scaling your business with Dana Jaunzemis

Today’s guest is my business hero. Dana Jaunzemis runs her e-commerce businesses in a completely different way than most people. She makes business choices based on what she wants, on the data and sales she sees, and on simplicity. Learning from Dana has changed my life – for reaalllzzzz.

When I first heard her speak I was like…holy moses, I can do my business any way I want to. I mean, I’ve heard that for years, I believed in it logically, and I preach it to my clients. But it wasn’t until Dana’s workshop that I truly understood what to do (not just talk about it), and even better, she showed me a model of how to do it.

Dana buys e-commerce businesses and typically triples their profit in the first year. Crazy, right?

The first things Dana does when she buys a business is 1) set an action goal to double daily orders, 2) focus only on high margin products, and 3) understand the customer. She is particularly focused on these 3 things.

Have a listen to Part 1 of this interview and I’ll be back with Part 2 next week.

You can also listen on iTunes and Stitcher Radio

What we cover in this episode:

How Dana and her team focus on doubling their daily orders
Reading through every single order she gets to understand the customer
Creating the right work style and life style for her
Data-based business and tracking what’s working
What metrics are truly important to track
How to avoid doing too much (and it’s so simple!)
Making business choices that make you happy
Google adwords, Google shopping, Facebook ads? What works for Dana…

Mentioned in this episode:

Dana’s blog, 44ideas.net
One of Dana’s e-commerce businesses, Home Health Testing
The conference where I met Dana, Sellers Summit
My Wife Quit Her Job podcast with Steve Chou

What do you think about this episode? I’d love to know your biggest takeaway so leave me a comment and let’s chat!

Thanks for reading and listening,

Jane

P.S. If you enjoy listening to this podcast and want to dive deeper into the topics we cover, check out my monthly coaching program, Imperfect Action.