My mission is for you to build a following for your brand and to let people get to know you, like you and trust you. When that happens, there's always a percentage of these people who will want to buy from you. It will be a natural progression and not something you'll need to worry about. You won't have to always be saying, where's my next sale coming from? What am I going to do? How will I get enough traffic to hit my sales goals?
I truly believe any entrepreneur can build a following of people who want to buy their products ,can afford to pay for them and understand the value.
This episode explains the "backwards" strategy of getting sales.
Enjoy!
Jane
There's setting up your show booth to "look good" and then there's setting it up for maximum SALES. I certainly didn't know the difference when I first started doing shows.
This episode will tell you exactly what to do with your booth for a craft fair, art show, market, festival, wholesale trade show - any selling event.
My guest today is Amy Meadows and she's an absolute expert at visual merchandising with intent to sell. It doesn't matter if it's a B2B or B2C show, booth setup is a high level skill and there’s no one better at it than Amy.
She understands the issues my clients face when doing trade shows. She gets down to the nitty gritty details and in this interview she tells how she worked with a clothing designer and...
"we were able to talk through some of those very same logistics issues that you just talked about. How many nails are you going to actually poke in that wall and what is the cost per square foot going to be and how long are you going to be there and how are you going to optimize all of your presentations so that you are blowing out sales?"
You're going to learn a lot in this episode.
Show Notes and Links:
Having a content marketing strategy that consistently ATTRACTS people to your website is a life-changing thing. AS a creative entrepreneur, knowing you have a PLAN in place, and an actual calendar you can follow - it's nothing short of magical! Magical, I say.
Today, I'm going to share my process for getting started with a kick-ass badass BOSS holy moses it works content calendar.
And most importantly, a content marketing plan that results in...
Let's do it together, people!! Get your marketing calendar together NOW before summer -- before the kids get out of school, before you head out on vacation, before you lay on your hammock & listen to the birds and drink wine...
Get your content plan together and you will feel IN CONTROL of your destiny, your business, and your bank balance.
Let's do it. :)
janehamill.com/calendar
Let me ask you something. That seems simple...
How happy are you with your business right now? Are you pleased with how things are going? The way you run it? How much you work? How much money you make?
What would make you REALLY happy with your business?
Yesterday I had a full day of brainstorming and planning with my friend/colleague/coach. It was amazing.
Throughout the day, I could sense she felt frustrated. From my viewpoint, her business is going AWESOME so I couldn't understand what was bugging her.
So I asked her..."What's going on overall? Are you happy with how your business is doing?"
After a long pause, she replied "I just wish it were easier..."
Ever have that feeling? We just want to be happier, we want things to be easier, and yet when I asked my coach what the "perfect" business looked like, she was stumped.
What does "easier" really look like? What would need to happen in your business to feel "happier" about it?
In this episode, we dive in and try to get answers to these 2 huge questions.
www.janehamill.com/happiness
When I first started making videos for my business, it was awful. I said the same things about doing video that many of you probably say:
- I don't want to be on camera
- it's not about ME, it's about the product
- what would I even say in a video?
- who would possibly want to hear from me?
- I've gained a little weight so I'll wait until I lose it to start making videos
- I need to get a new camera before I can start
I've heard every excuse in the book and I've used many of them myself.
This episode will help you understand the REAL reasons to use vdeo in your marketing and how to get started.
No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, you probably wish your business was different in certain ways.
There are 2 things that frustrate my clients and I hear versions of them each and every week.
Entrepreneur #1) "I really, really want to be making more money -- more money in my pocket, more sales, more profit."
#1 wants more sales, or at least more profitable sales.
Entrepreneur #2) "I just wish it was easier. I feel like I work all the time, I'm hustling for every sale, and I just wish it wasn't so hard."
#2 is getting sales but feeling exhausted and probably overwhelmed. They may be burning out.
Today's episode walks you through 4 ways to increase revenue in your business.
In fact, I believe these are the ONLY four ways to increase revenue. It's not complicated once you break it down. The problem is that most of us are trying to work on all four of these strategies at the same time.
That will not work.
I think this will help you no matter what stage of business you're in or what you sell. Everyone needs to hear this and then decide which of these 4 things you want to focus on first.
Let me know what you think back on the blog, will you? I LOVE hearing from you!
"Soooooo...MailChimp and Shopify are breaking up. What should I do?"
That's the questions one of our members asked me the other day.
This episode explains what's going on between MailChimp and Shopify, what it really means to you, the small business owner, and your options for moving forward.
janehamill.com/wtfmailchimp
What do you do if you're feeling overwhelmed by your business?
This morning I woke up feeling great. But then, for whatever reason, I immediately started getting in a bad mood. Just thinking of all the work that had to be done, the taxes, the emails, the content, the podcasts, the client follow up. Oy.
Can't I just crawl back in bed?
Everything was stupid. I hated everything. Drivers on the road were stupid. My work was stupid. My coffee was stupid. (Who picks on coffee?)
I was in a FUNK. Does that ever happen to you?
If you ever feel overwhelmed by your business, your life, your coffee...you're not alone.
Let me tell you how to get out of it.
That's what this episode is for. How to get to work even when you don't feel like it and what everything around you is stupid. :)
Today's episode will help you understand why more people aren't buying from you and what you can do about it.
Yesterday, a client told me something that disturbed me. She didn't say anything wrong, but she told me about a key learning point that she JUST learned. A real aha moment.
She's actually happy about it because it explains to her why more people aren't buying from her site and she's making a plan to fix it.
But I'm like...
You JUST learned that? I've been preaching and teaching that concept, ad nauseam, for years!! Where did I go wrong that she only really "heard" it yesterday? Where did I go wrong???
So I'm gonna shout out the "why they don't buy" concept in today's episode so there's not one more person who doesn't get it - 'cuz it could be hurting your business.
If you're not selling as much as you'd like, you may be having the same issue my client was having.
If you only listen to ONE podcast of mine ever, evah, EVAH, MAKE IT THIS EPISODE! <-- note the all caps and, yes, I'm yelling at you because you need to learn this shizzle today!
Show Notes and Discussion on the Blog:
This is Part 2 of my interview with Jen Geale of MTB Direct an 8-figure mountain biking e-commerce store in Australia.
Today is all about scaling the business and how Jen and her partners grew from $1 million in sales to 8-figures. :)
Jen is SO HONEST about the successes and the struggles and doesn't hold back with what they've done to grow. I love how she refers to the struggles as the "valley of despair".
Here's what we discuss in this episode:
Show notes and links:
Imagine you start an online store and grow sales to $1 million pretty quickly. How fun would that be? And everyone around you thinks you’re successful and doing great.
But you know differently. Yes, sales are rolling in, but there’s no money left over and you’re not making a profit.
Now what???
You either need to shut down your e-commerce site completely or figure out a way to get profitable in the next 5 months. Period. Thise are your only 2 choices.
In this episode, I interview Jen Geale, one of the owners of Mountain Bikes Direct. This is the story what they did when faced with a $1 million dollar business that wasn't making money.
You're going to love Jen and her business journey.
This is Part 1 of the interview.
Show Notes and Links:
www.janehamill.com/mtbdirect1
I’ve chosen 7 women who knocked my socks off this week. Each of them executed on an idea to help grow their business quickly and professionally.
The most successful clients I work with are the ones who take fast action when they get a good business idea. The ones who can barely stay on the line until the end of a coaching session because they’re dying to start IMPLEMENTING what they just learned.
You will learn a TON from this dream team of seven.
Enjoy!
Get links to each of the entrepreneurs:
Free class about selling MORE online:
Do you ever feel like you're falling behind?
Sometimes you just feel like other entrepreneurs are passing you by.
If you've said or felt any of these things, this episode will help.
www,janehamill.com
When you're approaching wholesale buyers, there's a tricky balance of contacting them enough to stay on their radar without feeling desperate for the sale or appearing stalker-ish.
In this episode, I answer a question from a clothing designer...
"Hi Jane, I reached out to Nordstrom via LinkedIn and the buyer responded with a message with her email and interest to check out my line sheet this past Saturday. I responded via LinkedIn the same day that I have sent her the linesheet and information via Gmail. It's been five days but I don't want to come off obnoxious or desperate. When would you say would be an appropriate time to follow up? Next Monday? Thank you!"
Having been a buyer and boutique owner for so long, I'll give yout the truth about how often to approach a buyer and what to expect.
Enjoy!
Show Notes and Links:
I recently got this question from a Shopify store owner...
"My sales are growing steadily (we did almost 300K online last year) but we’re still not very profitable. I need to grow my sales to have better cash flow. What’s the BEST way to grow my business so I can be profitable? Maybe I need to focus more in Instagram?”
*Is it Instagram stories?
*Is it getting more Press?
*Is it viral YouTube videos?
*Is it FB ads?
*Is it hiring an SEO expert?
All of these things CAN work - and they do. But it's not any of these that will help you truly take your business to the next level.
The BEST way to grow your online store is to bring your focus to 4 specific aspects of your business. This podcast covers the four ways.
Enjoy!
Jane
No one says entrepreneurship is easy. But when you’re the one who creates the products and then relies on them to support yourself, your team, and your family… now that’s a whole different thing.
People who own other kinds of business, regular businesses, just don’t get it. There’s a unique set of crazy–brain stuff that goes on when you make a living off of your creativity.
Two different entrepreneurs asked me the same question this week— what if my next season’s collection doesn’t sell?
And the funny thing is that one of them has been in business for years and is quite successful, and the other one is just starting out. Yet they’re both worried their product won’t sell next season. It’s amazing how we’re all different yet we all struggle with the same stuff.
This podcast will help you deal with the unique fear of "will it sell".
- JH
Show notes and discussion on the blog:
janehamill.com/whatif/
Courses and coaching membership:
If you own a product-based business, there are tasks you're probably doing that you shouldn't be doing. I know because I've wasted a lot of time doing these things when I owned my boutique and clothing line.
Sometimes I felt I was the "only one who could do it", or I "didn't know where to find someone" or the classic -- "by the time I train someone how to do it I could have done it myself".
All BS excuses, BTW.
Today's episode tells you the 4 most important tasks you should outsource immediately.
There's a lot of generalized business advice out there about outsourcing so I'm not covering the basics like bookkeeping or scheduling social media posts.
This is ONLY for entrepreneurs who sell physical products - retail store owners, online boutique owners, makers, fashion designers, jewelry designers, etc...
LMK what you think of this episode back on the blog, OK?
Are you running Facebook ads? Today I share the 3 biggest mistakes my clients make with their ads that are killing their results.
This is for product-based businesses.
Enjoy!
Jane
Show Notes: www.janehamill.com/FBads
I get this question all the time...
"How do I create content and keep up a blog when I have so little time?"
If you're running a product-based business you know how many details there are to take care of all the time -- shipping, customer service, packaging, social media, inventory control...the list goes on.
This episode covers how to create content for your brand without having it take over your life. I share all my quick-and-dirty secrets for content marketing that doesn't overwhelm you.
Show Notes and Links:
janehamill.com/content
Ready to get serious about your marketing and sales?
The "Sell More Products Online" course:
janehamill.com/smpo
I did a live training this week. Best EVER! I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am that the emails I received said it was “excellent”. In today's episode, I’m pulling out THREE things that helped people the most.
You're going to set ONE goal for the next 12 months. That’s it.
The goal you choose will make all the other goals irrelevant or unnecessary.
My mission is for you to have a simple, do-able PLAN for the next 12 months of your business. How great would it be if you knew exactly what you wanted? How unbelievable would it be to know what you should be doing quarterly, monthly, weekly - even daily.
Amazing, right?
Let's do it.
Show Notes:
janehamill.com/outrageousgoal/
Workshop - Goals and Planning for Product-Based Businesses:
janehamill.com/goals