← The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
908: Ask Me Anything: Pivots, Burnout, Flops & What’s Lighting Me Up Lately
00:54:51
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Jenna Kutcher
Nothing makes me happier than doing work that energizes me and I've always been.
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Committed to that, not just for myself.
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But for my entire team. That's why I'm so excited about the Working Genius Model. It's a powerful tool that helps you discover your natural strengths and where you thrive in your work. When you tap into what you're naturally good at, work becomes more rewarding and you get so much more done. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I took the Working Genius assessment, but it blew me away with how accurate and insightful it was. It it affirmed that I am naturally gifted at using my intuition and instincts to evaluate and assess ideas or plans. And it also confirmed my love for self starters and the fact that I can get frustrated if I have to be the main source of motivation for other people to get results. The assessment only takes 10 minutes, and it's great for solopreneurs and teams alike. Imagine with me how effortless your teamwork will be if you understand the working geniuses of those that you're working with. Working genius is different from everything else out there because it's 20% personality and 80% productivity. Simply put, if you want to transform your work life, this is it. Get 20% off the 25 Working Genius assessment, head to WorkingGenius.com and enter the promo code Gold Digger at checkout. That's Working Genius.com promo code Gold Digger this episode is brought to you by Bitdefender, a global leader in cyber security. Now let's be real. When you run a business from your laptop like I do, everything matters. Your clients, your calendar, your passwords. It's all digital. And if you're like me, you don't have an IT department waiting in the wings to fix things when they break. The truth is, small businesses are some of the biggest targets for cyber attacks, and most entrepreneurs aren't prepared. With so much riding on our digital tools, protection isn't optional. It's essential. That's where Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security comes in. It's it's designed for small teams of up to 25 people and gives you powerful protection without needing IT or cybersecurity skills. It helps safeguard everything from your devices and inboxes to your digital identity and customer data. It also gives you a password manager and even watches for viruses, scams, and fraud attempts. Plus, there's a VPN and scam assistant to help your team stay sharp online. The setup is simple, and there's even 247 expert support if you ever need help? Keep your small business safe with Bitdefender Ultimate Small business security. Save 30% when you go to bitdefender.com golddigger that's bitdefender.com golddigker for 30% off.
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Ever feel like you're doing all the right things but you're still not seeing traction? Or maybe you're scared to pivot even when your gut is nudging you forward? This episode is packed with real talk about burnout, flops, starting over, and the surprising things that are lighting me up lately.
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I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Goal Digger Podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a 300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it.
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Looks, all from my house in small.
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Town Minnesota with my family here, we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom.
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To live lives that we love.
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I've always loved turning big goals into reality and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practical, no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired and empowered.
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This is the Goal Digger Podcast. Let's flip the roles Goal Diggers Today you get to guide the conversation. I asked you to call in with your questions about business, life, creativity, burnout, strategy. Really anything you're walking through right now. And you showed up with such incredible honesty, depth and curiosity. In this episode, I'm answering your real questions. We cover everything from pivoting your business when you're scared to let go of what's working, navigating grief while building something meaningful, handling burnout, organizing your growing testimonials and what's been giving me life outside of work lately. You'll hear stories, strategies, and some honest behind the scenes of what's really felt hard and really good for me lately. If you're listening and thinking, wait, I have a question too. Well, there's good news I want to hear from you. If you want your voice featured on an upcoming episode and your question answered, just give me a call at 218-203-96, 6, 0. And leave a voicemail with your question. Seriously, don't overthink it. Just speak from your heart and you might be a part of our next Ask me Anything episode. All right, let's dive on in to our first question.
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Podcast Callers
Hi, Jenna, this is Sheetal Story calling from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. My question is, I'm in a season of pivot. My current business still works and I do love my client, but it's not really feeling aligned. I start attracting higher level clients who light me up, but fully claiming that next level space feels really scary. How do I constantly transition into this new space without sabotaging the success I've already built?
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Jenna Kutcher
Hey there. Okay, this is a great question to kick things off with. So first I just want to say normalize the discomfort of leveling up. It is supposed to feel scary when you're expanding. And to me, fear is often a sign of growth, not misalignment. I think it's really easy for us to mistake fear or to let it keep us paralyzed from taking action. But really, if we recognize that we built something awesome before, I can do it again at a whole new level. I think that gives us the confidence to move forward even when it feels scary. Just this morning, I went on a bike ride with my family and they stayed in town while I biked back to get to work. And I was listening to the book 10x is easier than 2x and there was a lot of talk about just different identity shifts and what is truly required to do something differently or to start something new. And it just reminded me that, like, fear is a part of everyone's journey. And I often use the visual in my head of, like, is fear the driver or are they just a passenger on the ride? For me, I want them to always be a passenger. I want to be in the driver's seat and I want to be taking action. The next thing that I will say is, always honor your foundation. I know it can be so tempting to, like, burn it all down. I've been through so many stages of business where I'm like, burn it to the ground and it's not necessary. I have been able to successfully evolve and pivot so many times in my career, and I think I've done it really well because I always use where I'm at as the launchpad for the next iteration. So when I decided, like, hey, I don't necessarily want to shoot weddings anymore, I didn't just say, I am done shooting weddings. I slowly phased out over a few years now. It doesn't mean that you can't start your next iteration sooner. But what I will say is leverage where you're currently at to get to where you want to go. And one of the best ways that I found to do this is to get super clear on what. What do you truly need to earn from what you're currently doing? So, like, what is your enough point there? And then black out anything beyond that. So don't take on any more clients. Don't do anything. The goal here is to free up more time so that you can dream up and think through what is next. Right. And so if you know that your bases are covered with what you're currently doing, it gives you the ability to stay creative. Because I don't think you can come from a truly creative space if you're feeling scarcity or you don't have security. And for me, security is a huge part of unlocking creativity. And so every time I've had a big pivot in my business, I've leveraged what I know works and what is currently working to get to where I want to go. And I've just essentially cut back on that to free up more time. The last thing that I will say is that identity shifts often require both internal and external alignment. I don't think we talk about alignment enough, but I think that when we truly feel aligned, that's when we get the most momentum. That's when we feel like we are living in and working out of our true character. That's when we're excited. There's this new offer that I'm working on in my business and I just got like, so excited about it. And I told my team there's really no like deadline or timeline on this. I'm just excited about it and I want to get it out into the world. And I feel like that is when you can really tell that you're creating from a place of alignment, is like when that excitement is carrying you forward. And so when you're going through an identity shift, you want to really lean on and understand that, like, a requirement of shifting is alignment. And so it might be a really good time to sit down and journal or to think about, like, what am I afraid success at this level will require me to leave behind again. In that book, 10x is easier than 2x, one of the big things that they talk about is that if you are going to level up, you often have to pull back in different areas of your life. You have to change different things. That can often be uncomfortable. Right. It might mean that you have to strip away relationships that aren't serving you. It might mean that you have to leave behind profitable aspects of your business to get to where you want to go. And so journaling and really thinking through, like, what am I afraid that this is going to require of me is really honest. Look at, like, am I willing to do what it takes to get to this new thing? And am I willing to really define, like, what new boundaries or systems or offers do I need to help me step into this identity confidently? And so a lot of times we can get really excited about the thing, but we don't think about what comes around the thing or how it's going to impact all the other areas. And so spend some time with yourself with that. You know, it was funny because when I started cutting back on weddings at the peak of my career as a wedding photographer, I was shooting 30 weddings a year. Then I was like, you know what? I was happier when I made $50,000 a year and had a life. I went down to 15 weddings. Then I shot another year of 15 weddings and I went down to eight weddings. Then I went down to four weddings. And then I finally phased out before I had my first daughter. And so again, I was using what I knew worked and what gave me the security to move forward with confidence as I started pivoting in a new path. And so I hope that that helps for you to have gratitude for what was and to have readiness for what's next for you. I can't wait to see what comes out of it. All right, let's go to our next question.
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Podcast Callers
Hi Jenna, my name is Tara. I'm from Northern California. I am a grief and sole purpose coach through my parent brand Losses Become Gains and I also host the Life of Script podcast. And this all stemmed from losing my parents to cancer within six months of each other several years ago. Frankly, the two mini courses that I offer, just not converting. What would you do or recommend for someone in a niche like this that's more service based and not seeing the growth that you were hoping for for your digital products?
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Jenna Kutcher
So first off, Tara, I love the work that you're doing and I think it's so important. I also want to say that in approaching an offer around grief that I want for you to really consider what is a gentle funnel. Like, you don't necessarily want to take a lot of the bro marketing tactics of like traditional urgency. You want to approach this from a place of trust and tenderness for what the reality is for somebody that's grieving and one of the best ways that I think you can start to build up trust and just really show somebody that you understand where they're at. Even though everyone's grief journey looks differently, is having some sort of low barrier freebie like a journaling prompt or an audio meditation that can help build connection and show someone that you are the right guide for them. So you could think through kind of the funnel, almost as like a podcast to a freebie to an email nurture sequence to a soft course pitch. Again, you want these to be more like invitations, less like hardcore pitches. And I want for you to just really consider where somebody is at and that level of just overwhelm and discernment required for somebody who is grieving. You know, I will never forget when I went through my second miscarriage and I was just really in a dark place. My friend Aaron reached out to me and she reached out really personally and just said, you know, I've been through what you've been through. I see what you're going through. I would love to personally help you walk through this. I've been building out this thing that has really helped me and helped other women. And I remember just feeling so overwhelmed, like, I can't possibly add another thing to my plate. I just want to be in the fetal position right now. But the way that she did it really showed me that she was a trusted guide that I wanted to invite in to my life. And she changed my life. I write about her in my book How Are you really? And just how her approach was the right invitation for me in that stage. And so, again, it's not necessarily a buy now. This is going away in seven days. It's like coming at it from a place of connection and a place of trust, I think is the best approach. The other thing that I want for you to consider is you don't want to just focus on the what here. When people are grieving, they know that they're grieving, right? But you want to focus on telling the why. Your story is essentially the sales strategy, right? If we strip back all of the traditional marketing tactics and the urgency and all of those different things, and we don't focus on listing what's in the course because people don't necessarily care what's inside. They want to connect with and understand why did you make it? So you want to reframe it as like, I created this for the version of me who didn't know where to begin after loss, Right? That's relatable. That helps them understand you and helps them see themselves in you. You want to position yourselves not as the hero of a grief story, but as a trusted guide. And so because you have a podcast, I would use podcast episodes to share that story and I would lead into your offers more directly from that, right? When people connect with your story and they know that you've been there and you've overcome this or you figured something out that will help them, that's going to connect so much more than like here is this three module program and inside it you get this 30 page workbook, like to them that just sounds like more work. And so you really want to connect to the why? The other thing that I'll say is that grief feels consuming, right? And it doesn't matter what you're grieving. I think everyone has walked through some sort of grief. And so if you are going to do these micro courses or micro offers, you want to make sure you have very clear outcomes. So when you have a small offer or a small course, you have to have a very clear transformation. It's not often going to be like the whole enchilada, right? You're not going to be able to totally transform someone and help them overcome grief, et cetera, et cetera in a small offer, but you want it to have a very clear transformation, which is often just one piece of that journey, right? So here's an example, like if you're stuck in survival mode, here is one simple step to begin healing, right? It is a small but clear transformation. And so you might want to evaluate your mini offers and consider renaming or repositioning around the exact moment of grief that it's meant to meet. Because again, grief often has so many different stages. And so maybe you can speak to each stage so that it's very clear based on where somebody is at in their journey if this is the right fit for them. The last thing I'll say, and this goes to anyone creating offers out there, especially in this AI world, is focus on how you're building connection, not just content. So many of us have gotten on these content hamster wheels where we have these publishing schedules and blah, blah, blah, and this is what I create, etc. How do you connect, right? How do you bring people together, People that are grieving, crave support. So if there are ways that you can add in community touch points like a monthly grief circle, or having voxer access to speak to you, or being able to process with live reflections, like any of that helps people see that they're not alone on such an isolated journey. And I would Argue that this makes sense on basically any offer that you put out there. I think people crave community. They want to know that they're less alone. And so even light interaction with either you or other people in this journey or can make a digital product feel so much more human and just so much more collaborative and community based and supportive. And so those are the things that I would consider with exactly where you're at. And again, I think your work is so meaningful, it just requires a slightly different approach. Let's dive on in to the next question. This one comes from Brielle.
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Podcast Callers
Hi, Jenna. This is Brielle from New Jersey. My question for you is, if you were to have three hours completely alone, no kids, no work, no husband, no notifications, how would you spend it?
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Jenna Kutcher
Okay. I love this question. It brings a giant smile to my face and it's actually funny because I can really speak to this because I recently experienced three hours of time to myself. And it was honestly everything I needed and so magical. So, traditionally speaking, Fridays are supposed to be, quote, my sacred day, which was a practice that we tried to implement into our lives over a year ago when I just realized that my life was so consumed with either work or being a mom that I never really got alone time. And it's really interesting. I crave alone time. Like, if you ask me, like, what is the one thing in your life that you need more of, it's alone time. And I don't say that from a place of, like, I don't love my work or my family. I love both of them dearly. But I get energized alone. I feel like I get more creative when I'm alone. I am recharged when I'm alone, all of those different things. And so with summer and the kids being home 24 7, my Fridays just get consumed with kids, which is awesome, right? I try to do, like, little one on one dates with the girls. I took Coco to get a pedicure. I took Quinny to the garden center. We were looking at all the garden gnomes together. And so oftentimes my Fridays just get sucked up with family time, which is awesome. But it often leaves me craving alone time. And so last week, it was Thursday night, We were about to go to bed, and Drew was like, what is your dream day for Friday? And I said if I could just get a few hours to myself, it would just really set me up for, like, a beautiful weekend of pure family time. And so I got a few hours to myself. Here's what I did. So first off, I worked out. I have been so consistent with working out. I crave it. I love it. Now. I've been having a lot of fun with it. And so I oftentimes will start on the treadmill. And there's a common workout that a lot of people do. It's like the 12330 where you're walking at an incline of 12 at 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. I now bump it up to like three and a half miles per hour because I've been doing it for a very long time. But I love to do that while I catch up on a trashy TV show. I'm watching Bachelor in Paradise right now, which is funny because I haven't watched Bachelor in so many years that I don't even know who any of these people are. But it's just kind of like a mindless show. I also love the Real Housewives. And Drew will not watch any of those with me. So oftentimes I'll walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill and that's when I catch up on my crappy TV shows that I love. I love, love, love. And then I have been doing a lot of weightlifting and I've been loving weightlifting again. Before I had kids, I was super into CrossFit. Those type of workouts don't necessarily fit me anymore, but I am getting back into lifting weights, so I did that. And then after my workout, I ran around with the dog, the puppy who's sitting at my feet right now. He's so cute. And I got into my garden and I was pruning my tomatoes and just marveling at all the things that are growing in there. I just love being out in my garden and I feel like I don't get enough time. I go out into my garden every day, but like at least once a week I need to spend some time pruning and cutting things back and weeding and doing all the things. So that's what I did. And then after that, I went up into my closet and I spent some time organizing. And for me, especially with my adhd, like during the week, my closet. We have an island in my closet, which I know is not always entirely relatable. We used to live in a 100 year old home and we shared like one of those sliding door closets, which is way more normal. But we have an island in my closet. And oftentimes I just take off my clothes and throw them on the island. And by Friday that island is like overflowing and I have to go through and figure out what's clean, what can I wear again, what's dirty. I even bought a second hamper for clean clothes that just need to be put back to help remove the clutter. But spending a little bit of time organizing helps me go into the weekend just feeling fresh and like not overwhelmed and not mad at myself for being messy. So that is what I did with those three hours. It's not super fun, but I had a great time and I just felt like I had time in my own essence and energy. I often listened to audiobooks or podcasts. I took a sauna. It was just great. So that is how I spend my time. Recharging. My garden is a huge one. Working out and organizing. Wow. I am definitely at this stage of life when those are my favorite things. But that is exactly what I want to do with my time. And I just love having unrushed time where I can like put in an audio or listen to a podcast, listen to an audiobook, watch some trashy TV and just be with myself. So that is how I spend my time. All right, before we get into the next round of questions, I want to take a moment to thank our sponsors for making this episode possible. If something I've shared already has sparked an idea or helped you just feel less alone, forward this episode to a friend who's in the thick of it too. And and have a little podcast club where you each listen to this episode and then talk about it. Coming up, I'm answering a question about creating a personal brand that you definitely can't miss. We'll be back in just a minute.
- [22:36]
This podcast is brought to you by Mercury Banking that helps entrepreneurs do more with their money. When I first started taking my business seriously, I remember feeling stretched thin. I was juggling invoices, tracking payments, and managing cash flow across different tools. It was messy and I thought banking.
- [22:54]
Had to be that way.
- [22:55]
That's why I was impressed with Mercury. Unlike traditional banking that feels clunky and outdated, Mercury is designed to make managing money effortless so that you can focus on what actually grows your business. Everything you need is in one intuitive product. Banking cards, spend, management, invoicing, and more all in one place. Plus, Mercury flexes to fit all types of businesses. So whether you're a funded startup agency or e commerce brand, it can be tailored to you. Visit mercury.com to join over 200,000 entrepreneurs who use Mercury. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. For important details, check the show notes. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. I grew up hauling a cooler down our Minnesota dirt road to sell lukewarm lemonade for 50 cents a cup.
- [23:46]
I didn't know it then, but that.
- [23:47]
Was the start of my entrepreneurial journey. Now I've got two little girls asking questions about money and I want their learning to feel fun. So when they asked to do their own lemonade stand, I went all in. Logo check. Compostable cups? You bet. And that's when I realized we could use a little help making money. Lessons simple. That's why we use Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app that helps kids learn how to save, spend wisely and even invest together as a family. We love the chores feature where you can assign tasks like clean the junk drawer or pick toys to donate and reward them with an allowance. Everything is tracked so you can watch them grow their money smarts in real time. Greenlight is the easy, convenient way for parents to raise financially smart kids and for families to navigate life together. Maybe that's why millions of parents trust and kids love learning about money on Greenlight, the number one family finance and safety app. Don't wait to teach your kids real world money skills. Start your risk free Greenlight trial today@greenlight.com Golddigger that's greenlight.com Golddigger to get started.
- [24:51]
Greenlight.com Golddigger Hey Jenna, this is Carrie.
- [24:56]
Podcast Callers
Roberts and I'm calling from Northeast Missouri. Jenna, how did you decide that you were going to be the brand and that you are going to have support team behind you versus having other people do what you do and you teaching them how to do what you do and and they are people that you point clients to as well.
- [25:19]
Jenna Kutcher
I love this question and I kind of have to laugh because my whole brand started as me because that's literally all I had. So when I began I was the business. It was solo, it was scrappy, I was shooting weddings, I was building everything. I was every single role in my company for many years. And so as you're listening to this episode, I have a team of people behind me. Yes, but I started just as scrappy as you are right. I will never forget those scrappy days. And let me say those scrappy years because it took me a long time to stop white knuckling everything myself and start getting help. So my personal brand really just happened naturally because I was the person behind the camera and I didn't want to be a wedding photographer that people hired just because they needed someone with a camera. Like I wanted people to choose me because they wanted me specifically And I knew that very early on. I could very easily tell in my first year of shooting weddings who just needed any old person with a camera and who really specifically wanted me to be the person there with them on their wedding day. And that really helped me to get clear on how did I want to market myself so that I got more people who deeply desired me as the human, not just as a photographer. And so my brand started as me, because that's all I had. And that was the only differentiator, because there were a million wedding photographers, right? There were a million people who could show up with a camera and deliver a photo on the back end. And so to brand myself, to stand out, to really connect with my clients in a way that allowed us to have a super strong connection, it was a requirement for them to actually connect with me. And what was beautiful is, is that when I was starting my wedding photography business, I was also a bride myself, right? So the year I started shooting weddings was also the year that I was a bride. So I could so deeply relate to exactly where my clients were in their journey, planning their wedding, picking out their dress, choosing cupcakes, et cetera, all these different things. And so it made it really easy for me to connect with people at a similar stage of life and really resonate and relate to exactly what they were going through and what was keeping them up at night. My goal was lifestyle freedom. I didn't necessarily want a business that was scaled through other people. And so I was so reluctant to even hire my first part time virtual assistant, right? Like, I wanted to do everything. I had this belief that nobody could do it as well as I did. And so I was very, very hesitant to manage a team of people. I have always wanted a business that has felt flexible, that has given me creative control. And so this idea of licensing or training other people to be like me or to be me feels way more exhausting to me than empowering. And as a control freak, I have a lot of concerns around quality control, the reputation of the brand of the business, et cetera. So for me, I personally chose to build a team that supports a brand, not replicates it, right? I could create an agency of people who follow my Pinterest system and implement it for other business owners. That's just not the type of business I want to run. But it's not the wrong business. There is no one right way to approach this. I think there's just the right why, right? You have to figure out, why do you want to do this? If you are someone who loves mentoring other people and you want to replicate yourself. It is absolutely a great move to go the agency or certification route. One of my really good friends, she's a copywriter. She's written copy in my business for many years. And I remember when we were talking at one point and she was at capacity, right? The only way to scale the business was for her to work more, and it wasn't humanly possible for her to work more. And I told her, I said, I don't care if you specifically write my copy. If somebody on your team that is trained by you writes the copy and you review it, I would be just as happy. And that allowed her to start her agency. Right? She was working from the belief of, like, everyone has to have me. People only want the words I write. And I was like, no, I don't actually care who writes it. You aren't even available to write anything right now. But if you hired and trained copywriters under you and you had the final say, I trust that work just as much as work that originates from you. And so that was a great move for her. And so you just have to figure out what move is the right way. If you thrive on being the face and you want to create that content and connection based on that, then I would say that the personal brand path fits and that's what's worked for me. The key here is just clarity. Do you want to scale your impact or scale your personal presence? And for me, it's always been me personally leading it, and I have loved aspects of that, and I've also loathed aspects of that. Right? Like, that's when your life becomes the content and you have to really get clear on what are my boundaries, what am I willing to show, what do I want to talk about? What is sacred and separate? And the lines were blurred for me for many, many years. And I don't necessarily think that was a bad thing. I think that was what I needed to go through to learn. Now I am far more private, but I also feel like I still let people in enough to truly know who I am and what I care about, what my values are, but not necessarily letting people in at the level of like, you know, what I ate for breakfast, right? And so just setting up boundaries based on if you're opting to go the personal brand route is the way that I think it is sustainable and scalable in a way that allows you to lead with you, but also separate. Where does the brand and business end and where does the human start? And I Think that's a question I should have asked myself sooner that I want to give you today. If you are going to do a personal brand, I can't wait to hear what you do. And I just love this question, Carrie. I think it's really smart to be thinking through through which type of business feels better for you and which approach is exciting to you.
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Podcast Callers
Hello, Ms. Kutcher, this is Brenda Frost, and I just joined your wonderful, wonderful training for the podcast. My question is after so much loss since 2020, dealing with moving forward after loss, deception, sabotage, and finding strength to moving forward with career without fear. So I just wanted to know what is the steps that you had to filter through just to get to where you are today?
- [31:42]
Jenna Kutcher
Oh, Brenda, I wish we could sit down for coffee and I could hear your story. I know that no one's story is linear, both in life and entrepreneurship. So I just want to say I honor you and I see you. And the first piece of advice that I would have is just to really give yourself permission to not rush the comeback, whatever that is, whether it's entrepreneurial or it's a life circumstance. I think learning to honor the pause. And one of the things that I've learned is just that sometimes the most powerful work that we do is the invisible work. Right? We're in such a show until culture that we're so used to, like displaying the work, but grieving and rebuilding our beliefs in ourself and mindset work and quietly healing, like all of that is so admirable and so important. And I have had seasons where progress looks like the fetal position and where being in therapy was more important than being productive. And that is growth. And we have to learn how to honor that and see that and recognize it. And it's not always about just like moving forward and pushing through. Right. And so just learning how to have that grace for yourself, the grace that you'd extend likely to other people in your life. And then what I will say is you need to figure out, like, what are you anchoring to before you start to move forward again? What is your why? A lot of times after you've been through hardship, your why has changed. Your values are different. What is important to you is new. And so it's getting clear on, like, what do I want this next season to feel like, not just like, what's next for me, right? Because I feel like often when we jump to, like, what's next? It's like coming out of this eager, urgent, anxious space. And so let your purpose become your new Pace like, you don't have to spend sprint just because everything feels fast in this world. And learning how to figure out an anchor that is strong enough, that is deep enough to keep you moving forward and to help you shift into this new identity in this new season is so powerful. And then the third piece that I will say is build in safe wins for yourself. So really looking at this stage of life, this phase of your journey, wherever you're at, after what you've been through, I have had to create like, almost like filters that I think of when I look at new ideas, new opportunities, new business plans, new paths to move forward on is like, what is a filter? I'm running this through. Like, for me right now, the filter that I'm currently running everything through is not what is my life's purpose, Right? Because that would tell me that I need to do all these very big grandiose legacy things. And the question and filter that I'm running things through is like, what is the purpose in my life right now? Right? Like, what is the purpose of this phase and stage of my life? And so just really building in, like safe wins, opportunities that allow you to fully show up without fear. I'm talking about like low stakes content, passion projects, creative play, giving you just opportunities to win without having high stakes, high pressure. Because that sounds like the opposite of what you need. And then the last thing I'll say is like, look around you. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with people that are safe after things like you stated, like betrayal and sabotage. I think trust is the most fragile piece of our human experience. And so whether it's not trusting yourself or not trusting other people, being around people that see you, that see you beyond the work you do, that see you beyond your platform or your productivity, that is a game changer. A support system is often just as strategic as something like a content calendar, right? It's not as. It's not as tangible, but it can be a strategy of having safe people in your life, people that can speak into you, people that can be a sounding board. And so really look around yourself. You might need to move forward slowly. It might not be at the pace that you're used to. It might need to be with a more gentle grace. But I want you to know that forward is forward no matter how slowly you are moving. And I just hope that you start to move in a way that feels exactly like you and that is true to what you value the most.
- [36:19]
Podcast Callers
Hi, Jenna, My name is Dr. Ayla Wolf and I have a clinic In Lake Elmo, Minnesota. I specialize in treating people with post concussion syndrome. I just feel like I'm putting really, really high quality content out into the world and nobody is finding it, and I'm not gaining traction and I'm not gaining momentum, and I just don't know what to do. So that's where I'm at.
- [36:47]
Jenna Kutcher
Ooh, this is such a great question and something that I think so many people can relate to, especially with recent algorithm shifts and with the world of AI just exploding before our eyes. And so here are three things that I would focus on for you. So first is how can you repurpose and multiply your best content? So what I have seen time and time again is Pareto's principle at play play, where 80% of the time we're creating and 20% of the time we're promoting the creations. And it is such a backwards way of doing business and of creating content because we are working so hard on the content, but we're forgetting that we have to guide people there. And so you don't want to just post it once. Where, let's say there was this era of my life where I blocked every single day, five days a week, for years on end, and all I would do is blog, and then I'd post one single Facebook post pushing to the blog, and then I'd move on to the next one and on to the next one. And so you don't want to just post it once and think, okay, this is it. It's out there. No, it's not. So how can you repurpose and multiply it? How could you turn that piece into a reel or a carousel? How could you turn it into an email? How could you turn it into pins and get it onto Pinterest? What is the process after you've created? Because I think if we could flip Pareto's principle and be creating 20% of the time and promoting our creations 80% of the time, we would not only get off of the content creation hamster wheel, but our work would actually make the impact that we are creating it to make. So that is something like we are literally doing in business. I had a call today with an SEO expert and we were talking about, like, instead of creating all this fresh new content, why don't we look at, like, our best past content and update it and figure out new ways to promote it? And so that's exactly what we're doing in our business. The second thing you need to consider is how can you make your content more searchable and shareable. Again, we are looking at SEO. I know people are freaking out about SEO, especially with AI. But one thing that we're seeing is that the better SEO you have, the more that AI is going to be sharing your work and recommending it. And so how can you use real world language that your ideal client is Googling or searching for on Pinterest, or saying to a friend, when you use better SEO keywords, your work is likely to be found long after you hit publish. And we are literally working on this, doubling down on this and seeing this in our own business. We've been working on our SEO this year for the last six months. And it's something that we're continuing to work on because we're seeing the results. We're seeing increased impressions, increased traffic, increased clicks. And so it's like post literally from years ago, are still performing well, getting recommended in search. And so how can you make your content more searchable and shareable would be the second thing to consider. And then the last thing you should think about is how can you get more visible in other circles? And so if you are covering a very niche topic, like how could you, for example, pitch yourself to a local podcast or write a piece for a local publication of like, why post concussion patients in Minnesota aren't getting the right help? Right? So, like, how can you really get visible in your local area since that's likely how and where you serve? And how can you kind of create more of a community and partnerships around that? Like it's, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats. What can you do? Maybe you can reach out to three local providers like chiropractors or therapists or physical therapists, and offer to swap blog posts or do join Instagram lives or do something together, like collaborate together. And what could that look like for you in order to get your content out into the world? Because your content is great, but if nobody's finding it, it's not actually doing anything for you. It's not leading them to a result, it's not leading your business to a result. And so we can't build and create content with this idea of like, if I build it, they will come. We have to lead people to that content. And there are a few different ways. And hopefully these suggestions will help your content do exactly what you're hoping it does. All right, we'll jump right back in after a quick thank you to our sponsors for supporting this show. If you've been pouring your heart into your work and it feels like no one's noticing it. Trust me. Let me just say this. You are not alone. So after this quick break, I'm sharing what's been giving me life outside of business. Plus a super nerdy hack for organizing testimonials so you can showcase them much easier. We'll be back in just a minute.
- [41:19]
You ever get served an ad and think how the heck did this end up in my feed?
- [41:23]
Like the other day I got one.
- [41:25]
For a luxury penthouse concierge in Manhattan. Guys, I live in small town Minnesota. Our version of LA is a teen in Crocs handing you your iced coffee.
- [41:33]
At the drive thru.
- [41:34]
Unless that penthouse includes mosquito spray and a Tater Tot hot dish, I'm out.
- [41:38]
But here's the thing.
- [41:39]
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- [42:33]
I wear a lot of hats in.
- [42:34]
My day to day life.
- [42:35]
Mom? What? Wife?
- [42:36]
Entrepreneur, Friend, Sister. The list goes on. So I'm always looking for ways to make things simpler and more efficient. And I bet you are too. If you've ever breezed through checkout with just a click, you've likely used that little purple shop pay button. It's fast, it's secure, and it's super convenient. But here's what you might not know. That button means the store is powered by Shopify. And Shopify doesn't just make shopping easier, it makes starting and running a business easier to to. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. You get stunning ready to go templates to express your brand style and built in marketing and email tools to spread your brand's word. Plus, with Shopify you can manage your business in one place. And yes, that iconic purple shop pay button. It's used by millions. And it's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com golddigger go to shopify.com golddigger shopify.com golddigger.
- [43:52]
Podcast Callers
Hi, Jenna, this is Michelle, and I'm calling in from Utah. I'm just curious what something that's been giving you life lately outside of business.
- [44:04]
Jenna Kutcher
So this question is so fun, and there's just like, a million things I want to say. One of my goals over the last few years was to make my work the least interesting part of my life. And this is coming from someone who was walking out of the depths of early parenthood, who literally couldn't name a single hobby that she had outside of work and motherhood. And so I have been on this joy journey for the last two years, and there are just, like, so many things lighting me up. One thing I am wicked excited about right now is I am designing a greenhouse with NW green panels. They're these awesome greenhouse builders. And we are literally designing my dream greenhouse, which I am so stoked about. And we're building this greenhouse chicken coop combo so that they're all together. It's all one thing. And I am, like, so excited. I've spent so much time planning it out. I've been dreaming about it. I love gardening, but our growing season is so ridiculously short in Minnesota. And so when we started thinking about, like, expanding our little homestead that we're building, greenhouse was the next natural step. And so I have just loved dreaming this up and planning it out. And it's just so beautiful. I'm, like, envisioning just so much happening in there. So that's something that's totally lighting me up. And I'm totally going down rabbit holes, and I'm obsessed with. So it's a chicken coop greenhouse combo. Beyond that, like, my garden is just my favorite thing in the summer, being with the kids. Like, my kids are just at the best. I mean, I feel like every stage just keeps getting better. But they're three and a half and six and a half. And I will be honest, I was very nervous about all of us being home this summer, just everyone being together. And it has been such a beautiful summer. I feel so lucky to say, like, I have been able to get my work done, but I've also just this morning, for example, we're up at her lake house. We biked into town, we went to our favorite bakery, we hung out, and then Drew kept the girls in town, and I biked home to get into work. And, you know, I'm starting work a few hours late, but I'm also getting in this time. And so I just feel really lucky that this summer I feel like I have been been super present, made a ton of memories, but still been able to get some really impactful work done. So that's lighting me up. Our new foster failure puppy, Hank, is lighting me up. He is just the cutest dog in the world. I never would have dreamt that we would have a beagle. He's a beagle. Coonhound mix. I actually have a DNA test at home that I need to take and send in, but my ADHD got real excited about ordering it, and I have not done it. But he is just the cutest, sweetest dog, and it's been so fun having him. I've always dreamt of having a dog that can, like, hang out in my office with me and keep me company when I'm working. And he is so good. He's so much fun. So he's lighting me up. And then we've had a lot of just wonderful family time. We had a family reunion. We had a big family get together. My kids did cousin camp with my parents and their cousins. Drew and I went to Greece. Like, it has been a really wonderful summer. So I feel like I'm living up to the dream of my work being the lead, least interesting part of my life. There's just so much happening and so much going on, and I'm passionate about so many things, including my work, but also outside of it. And so life just feels really good. I'm also really sad and excited that this year my youngest will start school. And so it'll be the first time in nearly seven years that there will not be a child at home during the day. And so. So I feel like we're just on the cusp of, like, a new stage of life in our marriage, in our partnership, in the way that our family runs. It's both exciting and also, like, I don't know, nerve wracking in a good way. I feel like we're, like, back to the drawing board of, like, what is the dream? And so, yeah, I'm just. Life is really good. It's so sweet right now. I just want to Bottle up so many things in it. And I feel so lucky to like get to experience experience summer and just how beautiful Minnesota summers are. We wait all year for this. So it takes a lot to get me to leave Minnesota in the summer. Thank you so much for asking this question. This was a fun one.
- [48:24]
Podcast Callers
Hi Jenna, my name is Shelby and I am calling from Chicago, Illinois. I am a grief coach who helps people rebuild lives that they love from the lives that lost. And I have the honor of having tons and tons and tons. I am talking almost a hundred really incredible testimonials. How on earth do you organize all of your testimonials?
- [48:49]
Jenna Kutcher
Okay, so this is a great question, Shelby. And I can smile as I talk about it because we just went through refining our process in my own company for this because we have struggled with this for so many years. Okay, so here are a few tangible things that you can do to help you organize your testimonial. So one we have a Slack channel for our company and if you don't have a team you could have something for yourself where anytime we see something come through we drop it into the Slack channel. So I get dms, I get comments. We have different Facebook communities, we get emails. And so it's like there are so many different places that different types of reviews are coming in. And so every person on the team, if they see something, you screenshot it and you drop it in. You have as much context in terms of the person and what they're talking about in there. So that helps organize in a huge way versus like taking a screenshot on your phone and then trying to find it months down the road. So any comments DMS just drop it in to Slack. It's all organized there. And then we have a tracker and you could do this in any project management software so it could be be airtable. We use Monday.com there's notion there's a million different places. But then we also log in any of those comments get pulled out of Slack and dropped into exactly what offer people are talking about. Then we organize by course and category so every testimonial goes in to a folder tagged by course, niche and what type of win. So basically we want to look at like what objection did they overcome? Because the strongest testimonials help talk about the objection that they face and then how they overcame it thanks to the offer. Those are the best testimonials because they speak to likely someone who is on the fence and their objection. This also helps us pull the right story for the right place like, if we are writing a launch email and we need to, you know, help somebody overcome an objection, let's find that objection and then find a testimonial that backs it up. Or in our webinars, I share different testimonials or on a website update. So having everything organized in one spot or one doc and then sorted by objection. And one quick tip is if you have all of your testimonials in a document, you can upload it to ChatGPT and say, like, pull out the most impactful quotes here and who said them, sort these by objections, sort these by business type, etc. So you can have help sorting all that information and data. It's just super helpful, especially if you have a lot of them. Then I would just say repurpose them strategically. You don't want to just collect things. You want to figure out, where am I using these. So again, we repurpose stories onto sales pages, social posts, emails, ads, Instagram stories, all these different things. And one thing that we're trying to do is instead of only collecting testimonials before a launch, we are trying to be collecting them every single week, right? So we had this process where it was essentially like two months before we launch an offer. Let's reach out to all the students who completed the course, let's look through our Slack channel, let's look through DMs, et cetera, and try to collect people. And then it was almost like this mad rush before the next launch. And now our goal is, is like, every single week, how can we be getting new testimonials? We recently released a new process that is super fun and it asks people to record videos if they want to, or they can type in their response to the questions we ask. Now, I love this personally, because if you've ever taken one of my courses and you have a testimonial to share, listen up right here. We would love to hear from you, and I would love to hear your personal story. This is how we are choosing different people to have on this podcast. So if you have a success story and you've never shared it, and you record this video, and I watch every single video, I'm like, oh, my gosh, this person would make an awesome coaching client. Or let's talk to this person for this sort of episode so we can talk about their success, right? Because it is so helpful to see other people who have done what you want to do. So if you have not left us a testimonial, I'm going to leave a Spot in the show, notes for you, for you to click and leave a testimonial. And this is how we are choosing podcast guests and people that could go live on Instagram with us and people to feature in our webinars and our masterclasses. And so it's just so helpful. But I love the video because I get to hear from my students and not just, like, read like, oh, this was awesome. But I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is their story. This is what they've gotten to do, which is awesome. The final thing that I'll say about testimonials too is, like, always be really clear when you're collecting them that you're not trying to take credit for somebody's success. I have had this happen to me before in the past where, you know, I took somebody's course, I got some success, and then they almost take credit for your success. I always want our testimonial collection process to be an opportunity to see celebrate someone else's hard work. We are just a guide on the journey. We're not the hero. They are the hero of their own story. And so making it really clear that, like, we're not trying to take credit for your work. We just want to share your success and celebrate it with you. I think that's like a huge shift in just the energy around it. So hopefully this is helpful, but just make it fun, make it approachable, and then set up different paths and ways for you to not only collect, but be proactive about hearing from your students. All right, final question. Here we go.
- [54:15]
Podcast Callers
Hey, Jenna, this is Rachel Erin, and I am a digital course creator. I feel like I'm still in the building stage of things and I'm drowning in subscriptions. I have a subscription to host my podcast, one to host my course, one to host my Evergreen Funnel, one from my email list. What advice could you give me to stop spiraling in my subscription costs?
- [54:46]
Jenna Kutcher
So this is such a real problem. And honestly, we've even noticed it in my own business where it's like our subscription costs creep up or we're constantly subscribing to things and they're like 20amonth and you don't think much of it. But then when you start to see all the different expenses come out, it's really, really interesting. So one thing that has been super helpful, and this is not sponsored at all, is I got the Rocket Money app and it will tell you what you're paying for subscription wise, because sometimes you'll find that you are paying for Things that you are not even using. So the Rocket Money app will tell you all the different things you're subscribed to based on all of your charges. And it will also allow you to renegotiate certain bills if it's possible and cancel things from the app, which makes it really easy. So we do audits within our team. And like, even lately I just got a annual subscription fee for something and before I paid it, I was like, I just want to make sure we're fully utilizing this, using all these capabilities. Are we on the right plan? We even so much will reach out to companies that we have like higher subscription fees with and be like, are we underutilizing this? Is there a different plan that's a better fit? Are there any promotions going on just to negotiate those things? And then you can also look at ways to find more all in one solutions for you based on where you're at in your business. So we love Kajabi, for example, for our courses. You can do landing pages, you can do emails, you can even do podcasts through them. So it's like a more of like an all in one platform where you're not paying all these different separate fees. So just looking at like, am I using all these capabilities? Do I need this tier of whatever I'm paying for? Are there any sales or promotions or abilities to negotiate? And then making sure you're not paying for anything that you're not using, it can feel like a lot and it can be a lot. But oftentimes too, if you just get one more sale a month, that can justify most of those expenses. Right? And so making sure that you're using them, the systems are optimized and the funnels are working, it makes it all totally worth it. But it's a real thing. And so, so doing audits often is awesome. Doing research now is really important of like, is there a better solution? Like, here are the things I'm using. What would it look like? Right now we're in the process of migrating our email software. And so like we're saving money, but it's also we're spending money in the migration. So just looking at like, what is it worth? Time and money and energy. But Rocket Money has been a really great app just to see even in life, like, what are we paying for that we're not using and how can we cancel that quickly? That's been a great hack. All right, that is a wrap. Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who submitted questions. I love hearing your voices. I appreciate your honesty so much and your stories are what make this podcast exactly what it is. If you love this episode, I want to hear your voice on the podcast next. Please, please please give me a call 218-203-9660. That's 218-203-9660. Leave me a voicemail, share your name, where you're calling from, and ask your burning question. No questions are off limits. I love the life questions. I love the business questions. I love the strategy questions. I love it all. Let's keep showing up for each other, keep asking the big questions and keep building lives that really, really feel good and not just look good. Until next time, Gold Diggers, keep on digging your biggest goals. And thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Gold Digger Podcast.
- [58:15]
Thanks for pulling up a seat for another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. I hope today's episode fueled you with inspiration, gave you information that you can turn into action, and realigned you with your true north in life and business. If you've enjoyed today's episode, head on over to gold diggerpodcast.com for today's show notes, discount codes for our sponsors, freebies to fuel your results, and so much more. And if you haven't yet, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a future show. We'll see you next time. Gold Diggers.