← 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
932: The Systems That Set Me Free: Building a Business That Runs with Ease
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This episode is supported by what Should I Do with My Money from Morgan Stanley? Okay, can we just talk about how money is legitimately one of the hardest topics to bring up? Like, even when you think you have your stuff together, there's always this really weird awkwardness around it. That's why I am obsessed with this podcast. It actually makes money conversations feel approachable. I recently listened to an episode about affording multiple big life things at once, like affiliate a wedding, a house, an ivf if they were all happening at the same time. And honestly, it hit home. So many people are wondering, can we actually have it all without sacrificing our sanity or our savings? What I love is that they bring in real experts who help break down these massive costs into actual doable steps. It's like having a money mentor in your ear who gets it. Search for what Should I Do with My Money? In your podcast player. We'll also include a link in the show notes. Many thanks to what Should I Do with My Money and Morgan Stanley for their support. Can I be honest with you for a second? When you started your business, you probably thought it was going to give you freedom, like more time, more flexibility, the ability to be present in your life, not just busy in your business. But somewhere along the way, it started to maybe feel like the opposite. Like you're always on, always behind. I was wondering if you're doing enough, posting enough, showing up enough just to stay relevant. Maybe you're piecing things together with tutorials and templates. Maybe you're working really hard with not a lot to show for it. And maybe you're starting to wonder if you're actually cut out for this or if everyone else just has some secret you haven't quite figured out yet. You probably thought entrepreneurship would give you your life back, but instead it feels like it's taking more and more of it. I get it. Because I've been there. I've built the successful business and realized that it wasn't what I signed up for. It wasn't freedom. And so I made a decision that I was going to figure out how to build a business that didn't run me. A business that could grow, serve people and make an impact without requiring me to be glued to my phone or constantly creating just to stay afloat. And that's what I'm going to walk you through today. Not some fluffy promise of work less and make more, but the actual systems I put in place. Place that give me back my time, my energy, and my life back. The same systems that have kept my business consistent, predictable, and low stress for the last seven years. Because here's the truth. Ease didn't come from working harder. It came from building better. Let's talk about the systems that set me free. I'm Jenna Kutcher and I help you trade hustle for purpose and build a business that gives you the life you you actually want to live. From a $300 Craigslist camera to a seven figure business I run from home. I've learned that success isn't just about what you do. It's about how you live. Here you'll get strategies that work, systems that give you your time back, and steps that turn your effort into results and impact. If you're ready for clarity, confidence, and a business that feels as good as it looks, you're in the right place. This is the Gold Digger podcast. Let me take you back to the first three years of my business. So when I left my corporate job, I left it to become a full time wedding photographer. And I had built my wedding photography business from the ground up while working that full time job. And so I essentially jumped out of the plane when I knew I had the security in the parachute attached to my body so that I could land safely. I had been burning the candle on both ends, working over 50 to 60 hours a week in my corporate job and then trying to book clients outside of my work schedule. And so when I finally left and put in my two weeks notice, I had the security that I at least had enough work booked that I could match my salary and that I could figure out the rest later. The first year, I shot 25 weddings as a wedding photographer. The second year, 27 weddings. The third year, 3:30 weddings. And I had finally hit the six figure mark. And I will never forget the day that I had confirmed, yes, in fact, you have earned six figures this year. Feeling empty, feeling so burnt out, feeling like, is this really what success is? And I remember just having that realization that this does not feel successful to me. And so after that third year, I made a really bold and what I now consider courageous decision. And I said I was happier when I earned $50,000 a year. I was happier when I had a life, when I had time. And I am so willing to go back to that because six figures does not feel successful in this version. And so I sat down and I mapped it all out for Drew, my husband. And I said, can we go back to this? Like, are you cool? Because we honestly hadn't changed our lifestyle much. We had been saving that money and we had the safety and security to say, let's go backwards, let's get back our time. Time is life. Time is my currency. I recognize now, in my older age that that was pretty amazing for someone who was 26 years old to say, I want time more than I want money. And I recognized that I needed to build something different. That while this photography business was incred successful to the world standards, it wasn't successful to me. I realized that planning my life two years in advance and being gone every weekend and editing every weekday was not the life that I personally wanted. When we finally decided that we did in fact want to start a family, something that we had been against for many years, that realization hit even deeper for many of you. You might know our struggle. And I want to share a quick trigger warning that I'm about to talk about pregnancy loss. And so if that is a triggering topic for you, just scoot ahead in this episode a few minutes. But when we finally decided to start our family, I was still planning my life around my work. I had a busy season being in the Midwest, and so from April until October, I was slammed. And so essentially, I had this short window of time between January and March to get pregnant so that I would be out of my first trimester before craziness hit, but I wouldn't be too far along to complete the work that I had set out to do. And when we had our first miscarriage, it felt like I was just stopped in my tracks. But I also had this really strange conviction that maybe this was part of our story and I was meant to share it to help destigmatize this reality that so many women face of loss. So we waited an entire year again to hit that sacred January to March window. And we were really fortunate to get pregnant again. And I thought, this is it. This is my redemption song. This is the story we get to tell of the miracle that was. And when we were plagued with the same loss again, a realization hit me that, like, something has to change. I have to change. My work has to change. I will never forget getting the news that we had lost another baby, one that we had heard their heartbeat, and having to show up and shoot a wedding knowing that I was still pregnant, but that it was not a vital pregnancy. I remember shooting what was the happiest day of somebody's life while feeling like I was literally dying inside and recognizing that this was not freedom, that what I had built was successful by society's standards, but it didn't allow me to be a human that when I wanted to be in the fetal position, grieving the loss and healing my body, instead I was working. Because if I didn't show up, I didn't get paid. And that was really the breaking point for me, where I didn't want to keep building a business that doesn't have room for me in it, that doesn't actually emulate what freedom looks like and feels like for me. And so that's when I realized I want freedom, real freedom, not just financial freedom, but time freedom, creative freedom, mental space. And I committed to making that happen. I knew there had to be a different way. And I committed to myself that I would figure it out, that it wasn't going to change unless I changed how I built it. And so I made this decision that I was going to build systems that could work for me even when I wasn't working. So today I want to dive into this and I want to first just start with when I say system, I'm not talking about some complicated tech stack or a bunch of automations that make your business feel robotic. I am talking about an intentional structure, a repeatable process that you can set up with care and then have it work for you over and over and over again. When I say system, I'm talking about infrastructure. It's frameworks. It's the thing that answers the question, how does this part of my business run without me having to reinvent it every single time? Think of this system almost like plumbing in a house. You don't have to think about it every day, you don't have to rebuild it every time you turn on a faucet, but it's there, it's working in the background, making everything flow. That's what a business system is. It's the behind the scenes structure that lets the front end of your business, the creative stuff, the strategic stuff, the stuff only you can do, actually happen. And so here's what's wild. The business I built in those years, the years of loss, the darkest days of my life, the business I built then, before I became a mom, is still the business running today. The work that I did in our season of waiting was far from wasted work. It was the most valuable work I have ever done. It fundamentally changed how I was able to be the type of mom I wanted to be. And so for the last seven years, my business has essentially been rinse and repeat. It has been consistent, it has been predictable, it has been low stress, high balance. I have never once felt like I had to sacrifice my role as a mom. I haven't had to choose between showing up as a mom and showing up in my business. And that is not luck and that is not theory. It is systems. And so today I want to walk you through the three core systems that have changed everything for me. And I want to be clear. These aren't tactics, they're not hacks. They are foundational infrastructure. The kind of stuff that once it's in place, it will give you the freedom you dreamt of in the first place. Are you ready? Okay, it is officially that time of year and if you run a business, you know the holiday rush is no joke. I've done more Black Fridays than I can count at this point and let me tell you, orders at 2am, inventory updates, refreshing my site, hoping it keep up. It never stops being intense. That is exactly why I use Shopify. It keeps everything running smoothly when things get their craziest. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names to entrepreneurs who will be participating in their first Black Friday Cyber Monday this year, they've got ready to use templates, AI tools and support available 247 so that selling stays simple, easy even during the peak madness and shoppes quick checkout. Well, it's a game changer. It means way fewer abandoned carts and way more happy customers. This Black Friday joined the thousands of new entrepreneurs hearing for the first time with Shopify. Sign up for your free trial today@shopify.com golddigger that's shopify.com golddigger go to shopify.com golddigger and make this black Friday one to remember foreign it's time for Black Friday. Dell Technologies biggest sale of the year. That's right. You'll find huge savings on select Dell PCs like the Dell 16 plus with Intel Core Ultra processors and with built in advanced AI features, it's the PC that helps you do more faster. From smarter multitasking to extended battery life, these PCs get the busy work done so you can focus on what matters Most to you + earn Dell rewards and enjoy many other benefits like free shipping, expert support, price match guarantee and flexible financing options. They also have the biggest deals on accessories that pair perfectly with your Dell PC, improving the way you work, play and connect. Whether you just started holiday shopping or you're finishing up, these PCs and accessories make perfect gifts for everyone on your list. Shop now at Dell.comforward/deals and don't miss out. That's Dell.comforward/deals so system one is a nurture system. This is talking about how do we build relationships that can scale? So let me just quick paint the picture for you. So the year that I decided, screw this, I don't want 30 weddings. I don't want six figures. I want to go back to $50,000 a year and more time was the year that I unknowingly was about to scale to seven figures. Now, this was not planned. This was not part of the overarching strategy. I have recognized time and time again that when I have claimed back my time, when I have truly treated time as my currency, I have been able to make massive leaps in my impact, in my influence and in my income. And I've only been able to do that when I truly treat time as my currency. And so in that year where I scaled back and I booked half of the weddings of the year previous and made half of the amount of money, I suddenly had time again. Time to learn, time to strategize, time to systemize. And in that, time to learn, I booked my first ever business coach. And I remember feeling smug. Your girl had 10,000 followers. I thought that meant something. I thought that person would look at me and be like, dang, you did it. But instead, on the first phone call, he said, how big is your list? I thought he was talking about my to do list, which at the time was still pretty long, but he was talking about an email list. And the truth was, I didn't have one. And in that moment, I really realized that none of those followers were really mine, that I was renting space on someone else's platform, and I had no way to reach the people I needed to reach. If Instagram disappeared tomorrow, I had no way to nurture them, to build real trust, to serve them consistently, to give them an experience that only I could offer. And that's when I really started to understand that I needed a nurture system. So a nurture system is how you build real, sustainable relationships with your audience, the kind that don't disappear when the algorithm changes or a platform shifts. It's essentially this repeatable way to serve people, to build trust over time, to create connection, even when you're not actively showing up. It's the infrastructure that lets you turn strangers into subscribers, subscribers into buyers, and buyers into fans without you having to manually do it every single time. A nurture system basically answers questions like, how do people get to know me? How do I stay top of mind? How do I build trust before I ever ask for anything in return? And how does that happen? Even when I'm not posting, emailing, or showing up live again, I wanted to build something that could work while I rested, while I grieved, while I became a mother, while I lived my life. And so here is why this matters. Especially now, when it feels like you need to just be the loudest in order to get attention, not even to convert, but just to get seen. A nurture system is in quiet service. It eliminates the feeling that you have to be everywhere. You need a system that builds real relationships and something that can be scaled, right? When I was a photographer, I recognized that the only way I could make more was work more, right? I had raised my prices, I'd done all those other things. And at the end of the day, if I wanted to make more, I had to show up more and work more. It was not scalable because I was not scalable. And so when I looked at how do I want to build something that is truly different, I had to look at how do I do things at scale? How do I set something up once and allow it to continue to serve? And here's the thing. If you are relying on showing up every single day just to stay relevant, I will argue you are not building a business, you're building a treadmill. And so many of us are tired of the treadmill. So for me, that nurture system is email marketing. It is where the real conversations happen. It is how I've been able to nurture people, to sell with integrity and to stay connected without being glued to my phone. It is constantly right now as I'm recording this, running and serving and showing up. I set up email sequences once. I write them so thoughtfully. I love, love, love, love, love writing my emails. And I will set them up once, whether it's a welcome sequence or a sales sequence or a nurture sequence. And I will set them up once, automate them, and they can be working for me. They have been working for me for years. They are introducing me to new people. They are building trust. They are converting subscribers into customers, even when I'm not touching them or thinking about them, even when I'm not actively changing them. Email is essentially the foundation of everything I do. It's how I've launched my courses. It's how I've built relationships with over 80,000 students and beyond. It's the one system I personally would never, ever give up. If somebody today said, you get to pick one thing to keep in your business, I would, hands down, keep my email list. It is an asset I own, unlike the other Platforms, I don't own them. They can pull the rug out from under me, they can lock me out, they could delete my account, they could impact my ability to reach the people I've worked so hard to gather there. And so I'm not saying you need to use email, but I am saying I would argue you should. But how can you create a nurture system? So it could be a private podcast feed, it could be a substack, it could be a membership community or even a really well designed customer journey inside of a CRM. But the key is, is that you have to have some sort of intentional, repeatable nurture sequence that can build connection over time. So the first system I want for you to consider is a nurture system. How can you start building something that can nurture and something that can scale? So what I would do if I were in your shoes is I would create a very simple three part welcome sequence. So think of it now. Again, I'm going to do it through the lens of email because to me, email is the thing that will really determine your success as a business owner. And so I'm going to give you my lens, but you are free to translate it however you want to when you think of a nurture system. So email number one, what I would do is tell your story. Who you are, why you do what you do and what they can expect from you. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of other people out there that do what you do. What makes you different? What is your story? What is something that AI could never own or replicate right? What is it about you now I would do? Email number two is a core belief or a value. What is something that you stand for? What do you teach differently? What do you wish people would simply understand about your product, your service or your offer? What is something that you're like if only they got this. That's email number two and email number three is a quick win. Give your subscribers something that they can act on right now that can build trust, deliver value. I don't care what type of industry you're in. This works for product service, this works for digital companies. What is something that can help build your value, that shows them you know your stuff and you can get them a result whether or not they give you a penny or not. Three emails. Set it up once and let it work for you every single time someone new joins your world. I love email marketing because here's the thing, we are sending emails every day. There's a stat out there that it's like Every entrepreneur is sending like 40 to 50 emails a day. What would it look like for you to sit down and write one email intentionally and strategically and know that it can be working for you months and even years from now? And so if you want to learn more about email marketing, go to the show description. I have an email marketing masterclass. I will walk you through everything. I will show you exactly how this works and the types of emails you send based on your business. We'll link it for you in the description in the show notes. But I want to go on to system number two. So the first system is a nurture system. The second system is a content creation system. And essentially I'm talking about how do we build your visibility engine. So I still get emails from people who say I found you from a blog post you wrote back in 2017. Now when I started my photography business, I actually started on a free WordPress blog. And I will have you know that I blogged Monday through Friday every single day while also working my full time corporate job. And I never missed a single day. And I learned how to write, I learned how to create content, and I learned how to serve. Now let me just say I had zero strategy. I didn't really understand things like call to actions or how to get those people that were reading my blog to do anything with me. But I will say that it got me to put in the reps and understand what content is and how to create it. And so I'll get emails from people who say they found old blog posts or people who say, like I listen to episode 542 and it changed everything for me. That content that I created years ago is still working for me. It is still building trust, it is still driving leads. And the best part is I haven't touched it or even thought about it in years. That is the power of a content creation system. So what is a content creation system? This is how you build the core assets of your business. This is where you're creating the actual house, the actual value, the actual sales substance that people will find and benefit from. It is content that has depth. It is content created to solve real problems that your ideal client has. And it is content that has a long shelf life. It is literally designed to be the central hub of your business. The place where you teach, you share, you inform, you educate, you entertain and you serve in a way that can compound over time. Are you starting to see the way my brain works? I want things that are long lasting. I want the work that I'm doing today. To be work that can make a difference tomorrow, a month from now, a year from now, and even a decade from now. The way that I stay engaged in the work is knowing that the things I'm doing today matter and that they will matter beyond the 24 hour algorithm time. Right. The churn and burn life is not for me. Okay? I have unsubscribed. I think I'm allergic to it. And so are you starting to see the way that I think about work and the work that I'm going to spend time on, it has to keep working for me. And so a content creation system answers questions like, what am I actually building? Where does my core teaching live? How do I create something with real substance that people will want to consume and share? And how do I make sure this content can be found in access long after I hit publish? So if you feel like as you're listening to this, you are on a hamster wheel of content, you are always creating, always posting, always chasing the next thing. It's because you're not building actual assets. You're just creating content that disappears. And here's the hard truth. If you are doing that, you can't scale that, you can't rest in that, you can't build a sustainable business when you are constantly starting from scratch every single day. Let me just tell you, if that hit you in your chest, there's a different way, there's a better way. A content creation system is the actual foundation. It is the house you are building. Everything else points back to this. So for me, again, I'm going to give you the lens of what I've done this through. But if there is a different method that speaks to you, that works better for you, that is easier for you, please go through that. I just want to paint the picture so that you know this is real. So for me, that content creation system is podcasting. Now, I am over 900 episodes deep. And what I have done with my podcast is I paired it with my first love of blogging. So my podcast paired with blogging, meaning every episode has show notes that accompany it, that live on my blog. These two together became my visibility engine. You do not need to have a pair of things to have an actual content creation system. This is just what has worked for me. And so again, every podcast episode I record gets paired with a blog post. And that's for me, where the depth is, that is where the teaching lives, that is the asset I'm building. Some podcasters create show notes where it's just timestamps and you get a little snippet of value. I have always came at the show notes from a place of how you want to consume content is up to you. If you want to read this and get the main points, awesome. If you want to hit play and listen to this, great. But I want to take one piece of content that I've worked so hard on and I want to stretch it in as many ways as possible and make it accessible in as many different forms that I can. And so this podcast has over 115 million downloads, and huge. Part of that is because the content is evergreen, it is searchable. People are finding episodes I recorded five years ago and still saying this is exactly what I needed to hear today. That is not luck, that is strategy. That is a system. And that is the house I have intentionally built. Now, again, I am not saying you need to have a podcast. Your content creation system could be YouTube videos, it could be an in depth newsletter, it could be comprehensive guides, online courses, a blog, even a book. But the key is, whatever your content system is, this is your core. This is where you teach. This is the substance, the house you are building, that everything else will point to the coolest thing, the thing that I love so much about podcasting is you get to build out your own library. You get to build it out. And so here's what I want for you to consider. What could a piece of core content be for you that you could create this week? Think about this almost as like a capstone content. If somebody understands this, they know your work, they understand why it matters. Can you create one piece of core content this week, something with substance, something that showcases your expertise and solves a real problem that your audience has? Again, it could be a blog post, a video, a podcast episode, whatever format feels right for you. And then this is a key. You want to add a bit of strategy to that piece of content. So how could you add a call to action inside of that content that connects it to the nurture system that you're setting up? Are you seeing how all of these things can work together? Right. We're two systems deep. So maybe you can link to your email list, link to your freebie, give people a next step so that that piece of content can capture that audience in a place that you own and can control so that you can nurture them, but that that piece of content is actually driving a real result for the person who is consuming it, but also for you. Now, the reason why I love podcasting, specifically for me, is that every episode I really think of how can I answer a question, how can I solve a problem? How can I deliver value for free? And I know so many listeners are like, dang, I have taken what I've gotten for free and gotten results. I can't even imagine what would happen if I PA to learn this. Right? And so the other thing I love about this is almost every single email we get asking a question can be responded to with an intentional resource that has already been created, developed, and published that is thoughtful and answers that question. And so I am constantly trying to create out of a place that is providing value and solutions that live long term, that do not expire, that do not get dictated by an algorithm if it's going to be here tomorrow and enjoyed. Okay. And so if you want to learn about podcasting specifically, I have another masterclass, podcasting 101. Again, you do not need to have a podcast. I'm sharing the content system that has worked for me. But inside of this masterclass, I will teach you how to start, record, and profit from your show. It is a fantastic masterclass and we will link it for you in the show notes in the show description. If you want to build out a content system that is rooted in podcasting like I have, and obviously, I have loved this content system. All right, system number three, then, is a content distribution system. So if we have the house, which is the content hub, think of the content distribution system almost like putting up road signs to get people to. To the house. Okay, so let me tell you a quick story about this. So when I became a mom, I really clearly learned quickly that I didn't want to be glued to my phone 247 and that I couldn't, like, my time straight up evaporated. I'll look back to my days before I had children, and I'm like, what did I do with all that time? Right? You don't know what you don't know what you don't know. And so I went from being someone who had shown up on Instagram daily from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed. And I started to really realize, like, I, one, don't want to do this anymore, but two, I can't. I mean, in the last year, I think I've shown up face to camera on Instagram stories twice in an entire year. So you can see over time how that desire totally waned and disappeared for me and how I was able to step back from that system and that, quote, strategy because I recognized that it wasn't actually serving Me. And here's the thing. Even as I've stepped back over the years, even as I have posted less and got more private, my business has remained super consistent. Why? Because the traffic to my site, to my offers, to my email list, it hasn't changed, it hasn't dropped. And that is because I've built a content distribution system that is not reliant on social media. Let me just, just lay this out for you very plainly. I am only on social media because you are there and I want to get you off of it. And so I have to show up to your party and whisper about a different way, a better way, so that you are even aware that it exists. The only reason why I'm on social is to help you get off of it and thus give me off of it, hopefully. And so what is a content distribution system? So, a content distribution system, the way that I see it is essentially, how are you getting your content found? So you built the house, now you need the road signs, right? You need a way for people who are actively looking for what you teach or what you create or how you serve to actually find you. This isn't about creating new content. It's about making sure the content you've already created gets discovered by the right people at the right time. I have studied Pareto's principle up and down and how it impacts us in entrepreneurship so deep, deeply. And essentially, Pareto's principle is this idea that 20% of your efforts will likely yield 80% of your results. And I believe that to be true. And I've seen it at work inside of our businesses over and over and over again. And what I'm seeing these days is that we have Pareto's principle flipped, where we are creating content 80% of the time and only thinking about how we're distributing that content 20% of the time. But I really, truly believe that if we can flip it and get back to creating 20% of the time and promoting those creations, distributing those creations 80% of the time, our work will actually get found and it will create the type of impact that we created it for. Our work can continue to work for us, but only if we understand how to distribute it. So again, this isn't about creating new content or more content. It's about making sure the content you've already created is getting discovered by the right people at the right time. It is the infrastructure that brings people to your house based on what they are searching for. And it works in the background 247 without you having to post, engage or show up live every single day. A content distribution system answers questions like, how do people who need what I teach actually find me? How do I get discovered without being on social media all the time? How do I make sure my product, my service, or my offer actually reaches people who are actively looking for for the things that I provide? And so if you are someone who is exhausted from feeling like you have to be everywhere all of the time just to get noticed, this is the system that will change that. You don't have to go viral, you don't have to chase trends, you don't have to post three times a day. You don't need to do all of that. You just need the road signs pointing to your house that you've built intentionally. Because here's the truth. Someone right now is out there searching for you right now. Someone is trying to find the exact solution you have for sale. Someone is typing a question that you have already answered in your content. The question is, are they finding you or are they finding someone else? So again, through my lens, here is what I do to distribute my content. For me, my content distribution system is Pinterest. And it has been the quiet engine running in the background of my business for years and years and years. I still get leads from blog posts I wrote back in 2017 because of Pinterest. People are finding me. They're reading my content, they're joining my email list, they're buying my programs, all because I pinned something years ago. Pinterest is a search engine. It is not social media. You do not need to be social on there. You do not need to engage in DMs, you do not need to be showing up in stories. You do not need to dance. It is a very different thing when you understand that it is a search engine and people are going on there and typing in search terms that your content can be the solution for. Pinterest changed everything for me. And one of the things that it fundamentally changed was how I was creating. Because when I started thinking about what people were actually searching for, what problems they were trying to solve, then I changed the way I was creating content so that I made sure my content, my house, was created to solve their problems and answer their questions. And Pinterest essentially became the road signs that pointed to it. That content that I created years ago is still working for me today. Why? Because the average half life of a pin on Pinterest is 13 months. Compare that to a post on social media that will live and die within 24 to 48 hours and you can see where the value is. The other thing to understand is you can be a contributor to Pinterest, you can upload your content to Pinterest, and you can create an unlimited amount of pins that will point back to your content, meaning this episode. When it goes live. We will create 10, maybe even 20 different pins that all point to this specific episode and we will pin them out over the next few months. Now, every single pin has the average half life of 13 months, which means the pin that I publish today on that platform is still going to be working for me driving traffic and leads 13 months from now. And that's just the half life. I have pins that are still driving traffic and driving results. In terms of email subscribers and purchasers and new people in my community from years ago. That content is still working for me today. It gives me the permission to step back from the constant churn of social media and to build something that actually lasts A few months ago I got my colors done and I learned that your girl is an autumn. Which means out with the black and in with the brown. I have been rebuilding a capsule warp wardrobe lately and my all time favorite place to shop is Revolve. They add new products daily and you can sort by color and size and even build out wish lists. I recently got these brown Autry sneakers that I am obsessed with and I snagged this suede bag that I couldn't stop eyeing for fall. Plus they have inclusive sizing and constant new arrivals, which means there's always something that can fit your life and your style. Whether it's a weekend away, a big night out, or just a little style refresh, your dream wardrobe is just one click away. Head to Revolve.com forward slgold digger shop my edit and take 15 off your first order with the code gold digger. Fast two day shipping, easy returns. It's literally the only place you need to shop from. That's Revolve.com go digger to shop my favorites and get 15% off your first order using the code gold digger sticker. Offer ends December 14th. So happy shopping. Let's be real. As business owners we know a reliable connection isn't optional. I've had my fair share of slow and lagging Internet and let me tell you, nothing kills your groove faster. It is the ultimate productivity killer. You can't process payments, you can't talk to clients, and your team feels stuck waiting on you. Back when I started my business, I learned pretty quickly that things only run as smoothly as your connection does and that's why I love what Spectrum Business is doing. They get it. They know that reliable systems keep your business running, your clients happy and your stress levels low. Spectrum Business offers Internet, advanced wi fi, phone, TV and mobile services built for your budget. And here's the best part. You can get free business Internet forever when you add four mobile lines. No contracts, no added fees, just dependable service that keeps your business moving. Moving forward. Visit spectrum.com forward/free for life to learn how you can get business Internet free forever restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas I am such a homebody at heart, but I love when travel reminds me just how beautiful it is to step outside of our routine for the kids Fall break We booked a stay on a small farm near Nashville through Airbnb and it was one of the most memorable trips we've taken this year. We met donkeys, goats and pigs and the kids got to pick peppers in their greenhouse. Watching them run around the farm getting their hands dirty and laughing the whole time was such a joy. It was peaceful. It was full of those little moments that literally just make you pause and feel connected. That trip reminded me why I love using Airbnb. It connects you to places and experiences that really stay with you. If you've ever thought about hosting your home on Airbnb, it doesn't take much. Whether it's your entire house or just a spare room, your space could offer that same feeling to someone else and even earn you some extra income. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com forward/host now. Your content distribution system doesn't have to be Pinterest. You could be using Google. You could be doing and focusing on SEO search engine optimization through blogging. It could be YouTube with using keyword rich titles and descriptions. It could be be using your podcast and using really good descriptors and good words in your show notes and transcripts. It could be even Amazon if you're selling books or products. The key is you need to put up road signs that will stay firmly in the ground beyond 24 to 48 hours so people can find the house that you're building when they're looking, not just when you're posting. If you want to step off of the hamster wheel of feeling like you have to stay visible and stay present online, then you have to figure out a distribution system that is long lasting, that isn't relying on your presence to perform. So here is your quick win to consider. Take one piece of content you have already created and think through how can I optimize this for discovery? Again, flip Pareto's principle. You've already done the hard work of creating the content. What are 10 different ways you could print promote that one piece of content to get it in front of the people you created it for? If you think that you can create a piece of content and post it on social media once and that is the promotion that it takes to get it seen, you are so backwards and wrong and it breaks my heart. Less than 3% of your followers even see what you're posting. And that's not even talking about taking action on your post. That is just seeing it with their eyeballs for one second. And so we have to think about how can we optimize our content for discovery. If you have a blog post, update it with better SEO. Use a tool like ubersuggest to find what people are actually searching for. Go onto Pinterest and start typing in a keyword that describes the work that you do or the work that you create and see what people are actively searching for. Make sure your content is using those terms or create content that answers those queries. If you're on YouTube, go back, optimize a video title and a description with stronger keywords. If you want to try Pinterest, create one pin for an existing piece of content that you already have. It could be a blog post, a podcast episode, it could even be an Instagram post. And make it clear, make it valuable, make it visually appealing and link it back to the URL where you want people to land. It just has to start with one piece of content where you stick a sign in the ground and you start bringing people back to your house. Now if you want to learn more about Pinterest, I am obsessed with Pinterest. I teach a strategy. It literally takes one hour a week. It will flip the way that you create on its head and it will change the way your work is found. It's called pin1's traffic for months. We will link to it in the show notes in the show description. Sign up for that masterclass. Sometimes seeing is believing and I can walk you through how, how this works. But again, this is what works for me. This is the systems that I have built that have truly set me free. So we've talked about the three systems. A nurture system, I use email, a long form content system, I use the podcast and the blog, and a search based traffic system, I use Pinterest and that's the distribution system. And so maybe you're thinking, okay, well this sounds great, but systems feel hard or stifling or that they're going to box me in. But now I get it. I literally used to feel the exact same way. So for me, I was so allergic to systems. Like they felt so stifling to me as somebody with adhd, and I didn't know this at the time, for me, systems felt constraining. They felt like I was putting myself in a box and killing all the creativity and the spontaneity that makes entrepreneurship fun for me. But I now see it completely differently. Systems have set me free. They are the thing that have helped me run this type of business, this scale of business at the level that I have, with the amount of peace and freedom that I truly have. Because here's what I've learned. Systems actually help me to be more creative. Why? Because when the foundation is in place and all of the underlying questions are answered, I am going to not second guessing the process anymore. I am not inventing new processes day in and day out. I'm not reinventing the wheel every single day that I sit down to create. I'm not stuck in decision fatigue. I can actually focus my energy and my efforts on the creativity itself. It's hard to be creative and it's hard to harness your creativity without having the foundation in place, without having the systems and the back end. I need you to hear me loud and clear. Systems aren't the enemy of creativity. They are the container that makes creativity possible. And I want you to hear this. I'm not saying you need to do what I did. You do not need to have a podcast. You do not need to use Pinterest. You do not need to build your business the way that I have built mine. But you do need systems. You need a nurture system. You need a long form content system. You need a distribution system. Those three things in whatever forms makes sense for you and your business are what will give you your time back, your energy back, your life back. Because I need you to know this burnout and busyness is not a badge of honor. Those are not the badges that we want to bear. And no one should have to give up peace and boundaries or self worth to build a business. I will rest my head at the end of the night believing that and preaching that. I am going to guess that you did not start your business to be a full time content creator, that you didn't start it to be glued to your phone 24 7, that you didn't start it to tell your kids just one more email or One more post. You started it because you deeply wanted freedom. And I am sure that systems will be the thing that set you free and give you that freedom back. You don't need a bigger to do list. You need better systems. And if there is one thing I want you to take away from this episode, it is that ease doesn't come from working harder, it comes from building better. The systems I've shared with you today gave me back my time, gave me back my energy, my vibrance, my creativity back. And they can do the same for you. And let me tell you, the rinse and the repeat nature of what I've built through these systems have been the biggest gift of my life. I look back at the last seven years of being a mother and I do not have a single regret because I have been able to mother in the way and the form and with the presence that I deeply desired because of the way that my business was set up to give me the systems that helped me claim time as my currency. Yes, I've built a beautiful business monetarily, but what I have treated as my currency is time. And the only way that I've been able to do that is through the systems I've shared with you. I know there has been a huge shift lately. People are moving away from hustle culture. They're talking more about balance. I have been talking and preaching about balance since I hit that burnout point three years into my business. It has been a day decade of me showing up and saying there is a different way, there is a better way. When I study the through line of the strategies I teach and the work that I do. The through line is I want you to build a business that supports your life that doesn't take it over. I want for you to be able to be creative and passionate in your life, in the world, in your communities. And the only way we do that is if we start at the foundation, if we build it in a way. Because here's what I don't hear people being honest about. Yes, we want to hustle less and we want to live more. But they're not talking about how do you actually do that? Or they're not talking about. They're ignoring the privilege that exists in being able to make those decisions and the things that set them up in order to be able to do that. So I want to be really clear. This shift in my life, the way that I move through the world right now, the way that I define success, the way that I have balance, it didn't happen because I just one day decided to work less. It happened because I built the system strategically that have allowed me the privilege to work less. And that is the difference. It truly is possible, but only if you build for it or if you create the foundation that makes it possible for you. So again, here is what I want for you to do this week. Pick one of these systems and take one small step. Start a way for you to nurture your audience. Maybe it's a welcome sequence, maybe it's something else. Create one piece of long form content that can serve for months and even years to come that answers a question that your audience is asking. And optimize that piece of content for search. Help people find the work that you've worked so hard on. Just one let it start working for you. Let yourself start to see the freedom that can exist when you build the systems that can work even when you're offline, even when you're with your children, even when you are out there living your life. And if you want to go deeper on any of these system, if my systems resonate with you, if this feels like the right path forward, if you want the full strategy, if you want to see it, to believe it, if you want the step by step process, if you want to understand the what and the why, I have linked all three of my masterclasses. They are on demand for you right now in the show notes. They cover email marketing, podcasting and Pinterest strategy. They are there if you want them. But even if you don't, start today with what I've given you here because your business should support your life, not steal from it. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the podcast. If you know someone who could benefit from these systems and getting them in place, please be a good friend and share this episode with them. I hope you sign up for one of my master classes because I will walk you through the strategies and the systems that have given me the freedom and the peace that exists in my life. And 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. Thanks for listening to the Gold Digger Podcast. I hope today left you inspired and equipped with something. Something you can put into action as you build a business that truly supports your life. If this episode resonated with you, here's how you can help this show reach even more entrepreneurs. Hit follow. Share it with a friend who's building something meaningful and if you're feeling generous, leave us a review. Those reviews help other listeners discover these conversations when they need them the most. This show has become so much more than I ever imagined. And it's because of listeners like you. You who show up and share. You are helping build something that will inspire entrepreneurs for years to come. For show notes, links and resources, head to gold diggerpodcast.com keep digging. 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